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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. 31.1.139
Nelson Appleton Miles
Alternate titles: possibly Gen. Miles; possibly General Nelson A. Miles; Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles; Major General Nelson A. Miles
1890, April
Oil on canvas mounted on aluminum panel
57 x 36 in. (144.8 x 91.4 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: E. Johnson/Ap. 1890
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Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, May 3, 1890, [possibly, as
Gen. MIles]
.
References
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" [possibly, as
General Nelson A. Miles]
.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 2019-03-28
Examination notes: Miles was a career officer. Probably done in Washington or Chicago. Dark coat. Large star medal. Strong outlining in paint along gloved fingers and details of clothing. Ruddy face. [Maybe made from a photograph.] A commanding presence with backdrop like a battle field; soldiers in tents.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Miles, Nelson Appleton
Biography: General Nelson Appleton Miles (1839–1925). Soldier. Served in Civil and in Indian Wars and was known to drive Chief Sitting Bull across the Canadian frontiers. In 1895 became commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army, just before the war with Spain. Husband of Mary Hoyt Sherman (1842–1904; m. 1869); father of two children.
White, Terry James. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1967–.
Keywords
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- Occupations:
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Record last updated July 23, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Nelson Appleton Miles, 1890, April (Hills no. 31.1.139)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=599 (accessed on April 24, 2024).