Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Lee Stalsworth, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
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32.0 Self-Portraits
Johnson, like other artists, painted himself when not engaged in other projects. In these portraits we see the chronological progression of his physiognomy, especially his facial hair. Sometimes we see the inner man, and at other times we see the man in his environment. The self-portrait he presented to the National Academy of Design when he was inducted in 1859 is the grandest; but the most flamboyant is his self-portrait of 1899, in which he is dressed in the costume he wore at the Twelfth Night celebration at the Century Association. —PH
Hills no. 32.0.18
Self-Portrait
Alternate titles: possibly Eastman Johnson; possibly Self-Portrait, Full-Length; Portrait of Eastman Johnson; Portrait of Mr. Johnson—By Himself; Portrait of the Artist; Self-Portrait, "Just as I Am"
1891, March
Oil on canvas
72 1/8 x 36 in. (183.2 x 91.4 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson/Mch. 1891 [As in other Johnson paintings of the 1880s and 1890s, the "8" has a flat top]
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Provenance
Exhibitions
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, May 1–October 31, 1893. (World's Columbian Exposition 1893), no. 438, as Portrait of the Artist.
Century Association, New York, May 4, 1901, [possibly, as Self-Portrait, Full-Length].
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, as Self-Portrait, "Just as I Am".
M. Knoedler & Co, New York, Paintings and Drawings by Eastman Johnson, January 7–26, 1946. (Exhibition catalogue: M. Knoedler & Co. 1946), no. 4, as Self-Portrait. Traveled to: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, March 1946 (California Palace 1946).
New York World's Fair, New York State Pavilion, Flushing, New York, Art in New York State: The River, Places, and People, April 1–October 1964, no. 45, illus.
References
World's Columbian Exposition. Revised Catalogue, Department of Fine Arts. Chicago: W. B. Gonkey Company, 1893. Exhibition catalogue (1893 Columbian Exposition), p. 44, no. 438, as Portrait of the Artist.
French, Edgar. "An American Portrait Painter of Three Historical Epochs." World's Work 13, no. 2 (December 1906), pp. 8307–23, illus. p. 8318, as Portrait of Mr. Johnson—By Himself.
Selby, Mark. "An American Painter: Eastman Johnson." Putnam's Monthly 2 (August 1907), p. 535, illus.; p. 540.
"Eastman Johnson's Paintings Shown: Genre Pictures of the Old School at the Century." New York Times, February 11, 1907, p. 9, "…a full-length standing portrait in oils, painted in 1891".
Hartmann, Sadakichi. "Eastman Johnson: American Genre Painter." The International Studio 34 (April 1908), p. 108.
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 Eastman Johnson].
Breuning, Margaret. "Tracing the Career of Eastman Johnson." The Art Digest 20 (January 1, 1946), p. 8, illus.
Macagy, Jermayne. "The Art of Eastman Johnson." Bulletin of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor 3 (March 1946), p. 94, illus.
Lansdale, Nelson. "Huge Sculpture Secretly Commissioned for New York World's Fair." Art Voices 3 (March 1964), p. 7, illus.
Ames, Kenneth. "Eastman Johnson: The Failure of a Successful Artist." Art Journal 29, no. 2 (Winter 1969/1970), pp. 174-83, p. 175 (illus., "from Putnam's Monthly, 1907" [i.e, Selby]), as Self-Portrait.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-11-18
Examination notes: Hardly does it reveal the character of Johnson. He seems to be hiding behind a thin impasto of paint.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Johnson, Jonathan Eastman
Biography:
Jonathan Eastman Johnson (1824–1906). American portrait and genre painter. Son of Philip Carrigan Johnson and Mary Kimball Chandler Johnson; brother of Reuben, Judith, Mary, Philip, Sarah, Harriet, and Eleanor. Married Elizabeth Williams Buckley (m. 1869); father of Ethel (1870–1931).
Johnson, Jonathan Eastman
Keywords
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- Inscription type:
Record last updated April 6, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Self-Portrait, 1891, March (Hills no. 32.0.18)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=695 (accessed on April 19, 2024).