Catalogue Entry
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
Albany Institute of History & Art object label, undated: "This painting by Eastman Johnson depicts Frederick Wells Gale, the son of John B. Gale and his wife Elizabeth Van Schoonhoven Wells (1824–1871), at 59 First Street, Troy, New York. Gale is seated at a piano and two pieces of Marcotte furniture, an armchair and a sofa, are clearly visible in the foreground of the painting.
"Although the furniture in the painting is red, not gold, there is an explanation. Frederick W. Gale died the same year the painting was commissioned. This supports the belief that his portrait was probably posthumous and painted from a black & white photograph in Johnson's New York studio."
MacGibeny, 2021: In addition to the portrait, the Albany Institute of History & Art owns the original gold-upholstered armchair and sofa by French furniture maker and interior decorator Léon Marcotte. Marcotte furniture is also featured in Johnson's three portraits of the Brown family, set in the parlor of their home in New York City.
Frederick Wells Gale (1850–1876). Son of John B. Gale (1824–1906) and Elizabeth Van Schoonhoven Wells (1824–1871).
- Portrait pose:
- Posthumous:
- Subject matter: