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Photo: Courtesy of Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York
⊠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. 31.1.48
Baur no. 177
Thomas Alfred Davies
Alternate titles: General Davies; General Thomas Alfred Davies; General Thomas Davies; Portrait Gen. Thomas Davies
c.1899
Oil on canvas
27 x 22 in. (68.6 x 55.9 cm)
Initialed lower right [on sitter's left shoulder]: E.J.
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Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, November 4, 1899, as
General Thomas Davies.
National Academy of Design, New York, January 1–27, 1900. (NAD 1900), no. 34, as
Portrait Gen. Thomas Davies, owner Julian T. Davies, Esq.
References
New York:
National Academy of Design,
1900.
Exhibition catalogue (1900 NAD), no. 34, as
Portrait Gen. Thomas Davies.
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York:
Kennedy Galleries,
1920.
Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 11, addendum "Paintings by Eastman Johnson," as
General Thomas Alfred Davies.
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY:
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences,
1940.
Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), p. 68, no. 177, as
General Davies.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-03-30
Examination notes: Greenish umber background. Also on face. Eyes right. His right pupil looks peculiar. Not much psychological probing. Black coat and tie (no details visible).
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Davies, General Thomas Alfred
Biography: Thomas Alfred Davies (1809–1899). Soldier and civil engineer. Joined the military at the outbreak of the Civil War and rose to the position of brevet major-general. A leading engineer in construction of Croton Aqueduct and in building of High Bridge across the Harlem River. Married Maria White (m. 1844).
White, Terry James. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1967–.
Record last updated July 22, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Thomas Alfred Davies, c.1899 (Hills no. 31.1.48)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=535 (accessed on December 2, 2024).