In 1857 Johnson drew the “Five Sisters”—women who were friends or relatives of each other. Beginning in the 1860s Johnson began to make “conversation groups” in oil, as had been the fashion in England in the 1700s. These scenes were of families relaxed in interiors and engaged in talking with each other, such as the Hatches, Browns, Blatchfords, and Burdens. In a few instances Johnson did charcoal drawings of the whole scene or individual members, but it is not clear if such drawings were done before or after their oil counterparts. —PH
Hirschl & Adler, Faces and Places: Changing Images of 19th Century America, 1972, notes about the canvas of the same subject (now de Young Museum, San Francisco): "In this conversation piece, James Brown, a prominent banker and shipping magnate of his day, is seated with his wife Eliza Coe Brown, and their grandchild, William Adams Brown, in the parlor of their University Place home. That parlor was designed by the famous cabinet maker and decorator Leon Marcotte after 1846 and was dismantled in 1869 when the Brown family moved uptown to Park Avenue. A Mathew Brady photograph of the late 1850s showing Mrs. Brown in the same pose as in this picture may have been used by Johnson in working out the composition of this painting."
September 18, 2014: "It is related to the oil painting (oil on paper mounted on canvas) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. The measurements of the NGA painting are 23 ¼ x 28 ½ inches. The composition is almost identical, except that the oil painting is slightly truncated, without the top details of the pictures hanging on the wall or more details of the two tables on either side. In other words, were you to draw a rectangle of 23 ¼ x 28 ¼ inches onto the drawing, then it would exactly match the oil painting.
The drawing is typical of Johnson’s finished drawings. The perspective of the fireplace, and rug are very accurate; the shading is finely done; the details are exacting; and the highlights are inserted with a deft touch, such as on the jet beads of Mrs. Brown’s dress. You will note that there is some slight paint loss of the white gouache on the skirt of the young boy, the collar of Mrs. Brown’s dress, and the 2nd page of Mr. Brown’s newspaper. I would not touch it; certainly restoration is not needed.
...I believe that the drawing was made after the oil painting. Here and there one can see a graphic outline along the figures, which suggests a tracing process was used. (This is very typical of Johnson’s style.)"
James Brown. Prominent banker and shipping magnate. Seated in the parlor (designed by famous cabinet maker and decorator Leon Marcotte) of his University Place home with his wife Eliza Coe Brown and their grandchild, William Adams Brown. They would later move uptown to Park Avenue. A photograph from the 1850s of Mrs. Brown in this same pose may have been used by Johnson to work out the composition [Hirschl & Adler, Faces and Places: Changing Images of 19th Century America, 1972].
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