Some of Johnson’s most memorable paintings were his small scale compositions of family groups. Such works as these, traditionally called “conversation pieces,” trace their pedigree to England and seventeenth-century Holland. They were commissioned group portraits of wealthy patrons as they wanted to be seen, usually surrounded by sumptuous furnishing and a coterie of family and friends. —PH
Hills opinion letter, 2013: "The painting shows an elderly gentleman, Philip C. Chandler, seated in an armchair reading a newspaper in an interior. His grandson, Philip J. Wilson, perhaps about six years old, stands next to the chair and hugs his arm. The scene is in an interior with sunshine streaming in and illuminating parts of the floor, the chair, the newspaper, the trousers of Chandler and the lower part of young Philip’s jacket."
MacGibeny, 2021: Johnson bequeathed this painting to his sister Eleanor, describing it in his last will and testament, December 22, 1905, as "…my portrait picture with the sunlight on the floor, of my uncle Carter Chandler and my nephew Philip J. Wilson…" Since it was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1861, it may have been signed by Johnson, even if the inscription may not be visible today.
The Albion, April 13, 1861: "But we pause long and lovingly before no. 259, 'The Papers—Portraits,' by Mr. Eastman Johnson, for it is his best here, among several, and in every way worthy of him. A man of middle age sits engrossed with his journal; a lad of seven or so stands by his side, musingly or dreamily as boys will sometimes when immediate occupation is not before them. Was it unintended, this symbolical contrast between the intense absorption of manhood and the careless revery [sic] of youth? We know not; but this is the inner charm of this little picture, though its neat and constant execution and its very clever effect of sunlight might well make it a general favorite.”
John Carter Chandler (1786–1866). Johnson's uncle; brother of Johnson's mother, Mary Kimball Chandler.
Philip Johnson Wilson, Sr. (1854–1926). Nephew of Johnson; son of Johnson's sister Judith and her husband James G. Wilson (both of whom were portrayed by Johnson). Graduated from Yale University in 1877; married in 1894.
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