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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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44.1 Euro Portrait Drawings, Men
After Johnson arrived in Düsseldorf in late 1849 his earliest portrait drawings were graphite sketches of his instructors and artist friends. He continued to make drawings when he moved to The Hague in 1851. As he began to receive commissions, Johnson used charcoal and worked much in the style of the late 1840s drawings he had done in the United States. It is likely that he may have done many more sketches, but those that have been located, of his friends and teachers, were ones he selected to bring back to the U.S.; the commissioned portrait drawings of Europeans generally stayed in Europe. —PH
Hills no. 44.1.21
Baur no. 349
Florent Willems
Alternate titles: Portrait Study of Florent Willems; Willems
1851, December 15
Locale: The Hague, the Netherlands
Pencil and charcoal on brown paper
13 1/8 x 12 1/2 in. (33.3 x 31.8 cm)
Inscribed, initialed, and dated lower right: Hague./Dec, 15./1851/E. J.; inscribed lower center: Willems
Markings
Verso: Colman Rosenberg/7233; left edge: P433-21; lower left: 38
Provenance
Likely Eastman Johnson estate/Mrs. Eastman Johnson, New York, 1906 (by bequest)
Albert Rosenthal, New Hope, Pennsylvania, before 1939 (likely by purchase from Mrs. Johnson in 1915)
[Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, March 14, 1968, lot 10]
Private collection, 1968 (by purchase)
Christie's, May 21, 2008, Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Property of an American Collector, lot 102 (as Portrait Study of Florent Willems); did not sell
Present whereabouts unknown
Exhibitions
1920 Kennedy Galleries
Kennedy Galleries, New York, Charcoal Drawings of Eminent Americans by Eastman Johnson, June 1920. (Exhibition catalogue: Kennedy Galleries 1920), no. 40, as Florent Willems.1939 Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906, January 18, 1939–February 26, 1940. (Exhibition catalogue: Baur 1940), no. 349, as Florent Willems.References
Kennedy Galleries 1920
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1920. Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 9, no. 40, as Florent Willems.Baur 1940
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), pp. 32, 76, no. 349, as Florent Willems.Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): February 15, 2008
Examination notes: Looks good. Delicate drawing.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Willems, Florent
Biography:
Florent Willems van Edeghem (1823–1905). Belgian painter, active in Paris.
Keywords
- Portrait pose:
- Half length »
- Portrait »
- Profile »
- Seated »
- Occupations:
Record last updated March 30, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Florent Willems, 1851, December 15 (Hills no. 44.1.21)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=1018 (accessed on May 2, 2024).