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Photo: Glenn Castellano/New-York Historical Society
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
⊠31.1 U.S. Portraits, Men
When Johnson returned to the United States, he not only painted genre paintings but he also continued to paint portraits, which gave him a steady income. After 1880 Johnson turned to portraiture almost exclusively. During the 1880s and 1890s he painted businessmen, lawyers, university presidents, and three U.S. presidents from life. At times he also painted their wives and children.
He was also commissioned to paint posthumous portraits, often from photographs. These portraits by and large do not have the sparkle and active brushwork of those done from life. It seems that the demand for portraits of business and civic leaders (and members of exclusive men’s clubs) was so high that portrait painters would often make copies of each other’s paintings to satisfy the market for such images. In many instances, it has been difficult to render opinions for such paintings. —PH
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Hills no. 31.1.170
Henry Codman Potter
New-York Historical Society title: The Right Reverend Henry Codman Potter (1835–1908)
Alternate titles: possibly Bishop Potter; possibly Portrait of Bishop Henry C. Potter
c.1898–1900
Oil on canvas
96 x 54 in. (243.8 x 137.2 cm)
Neither signed nor dated
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Exhibitions
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Spring 1899, no. 365, [possibly, as
Bishop Potter]
.
The Union League Club of New York, New York, Portraits of Americans, February 12–14, 1903, no. 17, [possibly, as
Portrait of Bishop Henry C. Potter, owner Eastman Johnson]
.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, American Portraiture in the Grand Manner, 1720–1920, November 12, 1981–January 31, 1982. Traveled to: National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., March 17–June 6, 1982.
References
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York:
Kennedy Galleries,
1920.
Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 12, addendum “Paintings by Eastman Johnson" [possibly, as
Bishop Potter]
.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 2019-02-20
Examination notes: Photos but did not take notes. Impressive figure.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Potter, Henry Codman
Biography: Henry Codman Potter (1834–1908). “...Protestant Episcopal clergyman…born in Schenectady, New York. After graduating from the Virginia Theological Seminary he held pastorates in Troy, New York (1859–1866), at Trinity Church, Boston (1866–1868), and at Grace Church, New York (1868–1883). As bishop of New York (1887–1908) he was a major figure in the campaign against corruption in the city, and he carried on the building of the cathedral of St. John the Divine, having laid the cornerstone in 1892” [New-York Historical Society gallery label]. Potter was also one of the founders of the Century Association. Brother of Eliphalet Nott Potter, also portrayed by Johnson.
Keywords
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Record last updated August 9, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Henry Codman Potter, c.1898–1900 (Hills no. 31.1.170)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=1148 (accessed on April 26, 2024).
