Like many artists in the nineteenth century, Johnson often did paintings of “types” that are actually identifiable portraits. For example, the painting John F. Sylvia shows a Nantucket miller in his barn looking up from his account books to look out the window. Called at one time The Falling Market, the subject suggests a man perhaps assessing his position in the economy in the early years of the 1870s when a recession gripped the nation. —PH
Hills, 2021: Captain Murat is an unknown subject. Based on the similarity of the names, it is possible that this is a portrait of Captain Charles Myrick.
MacGibeny, 2021: According to the Nantucket Historical Association, there are no references to the name Murat in their collection or in Nantucket newspapers.
- Portrait pose:
- Occupations:
- Subject matter: