Charles Goddard Weld

Charles Goddard Weld (1857–1911), was a Boston-area physician, sailor, and philanthropist. Weld, a resident of Brookline, Massachusetts and a scion of the Welds of that area, practiced surgery for many years, but ultimately gave it up to manage his family's fortune. He made major contributions to two museums in Greater Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Contributions Weld is donated his the collection of Ernest Fenollosa for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The museum contains one of the largest collections of Japanese art outside Japan, numbering over 100,000 objects. In 1886, Weld attempted to sail around the world in his personal yacht. However, while moored in Yokohama, the yacht caught fire and was destroyed. As a result, Weld spent an extended amount of time with his Bostonian friends William Sturgis Bigelow and Ernest Fenollosa. The pair had already been in Japan for some time themselves, exploring the country and collecting art. The Fenollosa-Weld Collection contains many of the most famous pieces in the Museum of Fine Arts' collection. Among them is a handscroll painting (emaki) depicting the 1159 Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace. Others are famous pieces by Sesshū, Kanō Eitoku, and Kanō Hōgai.