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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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Photo: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
Martin Brewer Anderson, 1882 (Hills no. 31.1.2). Portrait hanging in University of Rochester Registrar's Office, likely 1890-1900
Portrait hanging in University of Rochester Registrar's Office, likely 1890-1900
Photo: Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of Rochester
[ 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. 31.1.2
Martin Brewer Anderson
1882
Oil on canvas
27 x 22 in. (68.6 x 55.9 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: E. Johnson/1882
Department of Rare Books & Special Collections, Rush Rhees Library, University of Rochester
Provenance
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, by 1884
References
Peck 1884
Peck, William F. Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester; With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., 1884, p. 542: "In 1876 a portrait of Prof. John F. Stoddard, the founder of the Stoddard prize medal, was added to the collection; and still more recently the walls of the faculty room have been adorned with a fine portrait of President Anderson, painted by Eastman Johnson."
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Anderson, Martin Brewer
Biography:

Martin Brewer Anderson (1815–1890). First president of University of Rochester, 1853–1888.

Keywords
Record last updated March 26, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Martin Brewer Anderson, 1882 (Hills no. 31.1.2)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=1777 (accessed on April 25, 2024).