⊠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. 31.1.95
Baur no. 196a
Joseph Wesley Harper, Jr.
Alternate titles: Joseph Wesley Harper; Portrait of Joseph Wesley Harper (1830–1896)
c.1885–96
Oil on canvas mounted on board
30 3/8 x 25 1/4 in. (77.2 x 64.1 cm)
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References
Gifts and Bequests: Land, Buildings and Equipment, 1754–1928, Compiled in the Office of the Treasurer. New York:
Columbia University,
1929, p. 20
.
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. 196a, as
Joseph Wesley Harper.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-06-04
Examination notes: Seen at Mens Faculty Club, 3rd floor dining room, North Wall. Black coat and background. Face emerges from darkness. Pink face. Intelligent. Granular impasto.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Harper, Joseph Wesley, Jr.
Biography: Joseph Wesley Harper, Jr. (1830–1896). Columbia University, Class of 1948; Trustee of the College, 1873–1896 [Columbia University Gifts and Bequests].
Harper, Joseph Wesley, Jr.
Record last updated July 29, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Joseph Wesley Harper, Jr., c.1885–96 (Hills no. 31.1.95)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=565 (accessed on November 6, 2024).