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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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Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society
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. 31.1.60
Hercules Louis Dousman II
Villa Louis title: Portrait of H. Louis Dousman (1848–1886)
1888
Oil on canvas
53 1/2 x 40 1/4 in. (135.9 x 102.2 cm)
Signed and dated lower left in black or dark brown: E. Johnson 1888 [As in other Johnson paintings of the 1880s and 1890s, the "8"s have a flat top]
Description / Remarks

MacGibeny, 2021: According to correspondence in the archives of Villa Louis, this portrait was commissioned by H. Louis Dousman's wife, Nina Linn Sturgis Dousman, after her husband's death. Johnson painted it from a photograph of Dousman taken by Napoleon Sarony in 1880. Hamilton Busbey, an acquaintance of Dousman, went to see the portrait in Johnson's studio in March 1888 and reported to Mrs. Dousman: "The artist has closely followed the photograph, and in doing so, I think, has left out lines of character. Photographs seldom reflect the strong features. Mr. Johnson, however, had no other guide than the photograph. The pose of his picture is admirable and the color good."

Provenance
Louis de Vierville Dousman, her son
Mrs. H. Louis Dousman, April or May 1888 (by commission)
Villa Louis, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, 1952 (by gift)
References
Busbey, Hamilton n.d.
Hamilton Busby letter to Nina Linn Sturgis Dousman, n.d, "Louis died in January 1886 and in November of 1887 his widow decided to have a portrait palnted of her late husband. Louis had had a large art collection, so Mrs. Dousman was somewhat conversant with the art world. She wrote to the American Art Association in New York asking for suggestions as to whom could paint her husband's portrait. Thomas Kirby of the Association responded with three names and addresses. He suggested Eastman Johnson, W. M. Chase, and J. W. Alexander. Mrs. Dousman communicated with at least Eastman Johnson for he painted the portrait. This was done from a photograph taken in 1880 by Napoleon Sarony. The portrait was completed in April/May 1888. Thomas Wilmut brought the painting to his shop, constructed a frame, and shipped the work to Mrs. Dousman. The cost of the portrait was $2000.00."
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Dousman, Hercules Louis, II
Biography:

Hercules Louis Dousman II (1848–1886). Better known as Louis Dousman. Fur trader, lumberman, speculator, socialite and art collector. Born in Wisconsin; later lived in Minnesota and Missouri. His estate, Villa Louis, is operated as a museum by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Keywords
Record last updated March 22, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Hercules Louis Dousman II, 1888 (Hills no. 31.1.60)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=545 (accessed on March 28, 2024).