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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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[ 31.1 U.S. Portraits, Men ]info
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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. 31.1.195
George Selves
c.1857–58
Locale: Cincinnati, Ohio
Oil
[dimensions unknown]
Present whereabouts unknown
Provenance
Present whereabouts unknown
References
Goss 1912
Goss, Charles Frederic. Cincinnati, The Queen City, 1788–1912. Vol. 2. Chicago: Cincinnati Clarke, 1912, p. 445: "The distinguished American artist, Eastman Johnson, worked for some time in a studio in the Bacon building, at the corner of Walnut and Sixth streets. In those early days of his career he was often out of pocket, but in spite of this fact he was unwilling to work at a price he considered unworthy of his art; he charged what was then considered a high price for a portrait, seventy-five dollars, and even when in financial straits would not lower his rates. Johnson produced portraits of Edmund Dexter, George Selves and many other prominent citizens of Cincinnati".
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Selves, George
Biography:

George Selves (1812–1862). Cincinnati art patron. 

Keywords
Record last updated July 29, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "George Selves, c.1857–58 (Hills no. 31.1.195)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=1382 (accessed on May 3, 2024).