Catalogue Entry
Works in the Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné are organized into themes based on medium, locale (United States or Europe), and subject matter. Portraits made in the United States are further categorized by when Johnson made them: early (before he went to Europe in 1849) and late (after he returned to the U.S. in 1855). Uncategorized drawings are drawings for which not all of these details are known. Either the subject matter indicated by the title is ambiguous (for example, Crayon) or, more often, the subject matter is clear (for example, Half Figure of Young Man with Beard), but it is unknown when and/or where Johnson made the work. Future research may enable the works in this theme to be identified more specifically. —AM
MacGibeny, 2022: In Book of the American Artists: American Artist Life, 1867, Henry T. Tuckerman listed "Four Crayon Portraits" by Johnson among the collection of G. W. Riggs, Esq. Two of the portraits are identified: Riggs's sons Elisha Francis Riggs and George Shedden Riggs. This catalogue entry represents one of the remaining two portrait drawings. It is currently uncategorized because the gender and age of the sitter are unknown.
- Portrait pose: