Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Courtesy of Heritage Auctions
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Photo: Courtesy of Heritage Auctions
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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. 32.0.20
Self-Portrait
Alternate titles: possibly Self-Portrait, Full-Length; Eastman Johnson in the costume worn by him at the Twelfth Night celebration at the Century Club, 1899; Self-Portrait in Costume; Self-Portrait in the Costume Worn by Him at the Twelfth Night Celebration at the Country [sic] Club, 1899; Twelfth Night; Twelfth Night at Century Club—Portrait of the Artist; Twelfth Night at the Century Club; Twelfth Night at the Century Club (Portrait of the Artist); Twelfth Night at the Century Club, being a Portrait of the Artist; Twelfth Night—Self-Portrait
c.1899
Oil on canvas mounted on canvas mounted on board
56 1/2 x 43 in. (143.5 x 109.2 cm)
Signed lower left: E. Johnson
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Description / Remarks
MacGibeny, 2021: Sadakichi Hartmann writes in "Eastman Johnson: American Genre Painter," 1908, that this portrait was painted in 1899. According to Hills, an inscription on an old photo says "Twelfth Night/Century Club 1892 [sic]", and Johnson is said to have worn the costume in 1899. Century Association records confirm that the Twelfth Night celebration was in 1899, with Johnson likely in attendance, and there was no Twelfth Night celebration in 1892.
According to the Carnegie Museum of Art, this painting was rejected from the Ninth Carnegie International, 1904.
Provenance
Private collection, Dallas, by 1985
Exhibitions
Boston Art Club, Boston, January 6, 1899–February 3, 1900, no. 54, as Twelfth Night at Century Club—Portrait of the Artist.
Boston Art Club, Boston, Oil Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Art Club, Sixty-First Exhibition, January 6–February 3, 1900. (Exhibition catalogue: Boston Art Club 1900), no. 54.
Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, Summer 1901. (Pan-American Exposition 1901), no. 731, as Twelfth Night at the Century Club.
Century Association, New York, May 4, 1901, [possibly, as Self-Portrait, Full-Length].
The Union League Club of New York, New York, An Exhibition of Portraits, March 10–12, 1904, no. 23, as Twelfth Night at the Century Club, being a Portrait of the Artist, owner Eastman Johnson.
Kennedy Galleries, New York, The American View: Art from 1770 to 1978, December 6, 1978–January 6, 1979. (Kennedy Galleries 1978), no. 32.
References
Boston Art Club. Oil Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Art Club, Sixty-First Exhibition, 1900. Boston: Mills and Knight Company, 1900. Exhibition catalogue (1900 Boston Art Club), n.p., no. 54, as Twelfth Night at Century Club—Portrait of the Artist.
Pan-American Exposition: Catalogue of the Exhibition of Fine Arts. Buffalo, NY: William A. Coffin, 1901. Exhibition catalogue (1901 Pan-American Exposition), p. 58, no. 731, as Twelfth Night at the Century Club (Portrait of the Artist).
Low, Will. "Eastman Johnson—His Life and Works." Scribner's Magazine 40, no. 2 (August 1906), p. 254.
Walton, William. "Eastman Johnson, Painter." Scribner's Magazine 40 (September 1906), opp. p. 264; p. 274 illus.
Catalogue of Finished Pictures, Studies, and Drawings by the Late Eastman Johnson, N.A. New York: American Art Association, February 1907. Sale catalogue, illus. frontispiece.
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. 13, addendum “Paintings by Eastman Johnson" [possibly, as Twelfth Night].
Flexner, James Thomas. The World of Winslow Homer, 1836–1910. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1966.
Hills, Patricia. Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1972. Exhibition catalogue (1972 Whitney Museum), p. 116, as Self-Portrait.
Hills, Patricia. The Genre Paintings of Eastman Johnson: The Sources and Development of His Style and Themes. New York: Garland Publishing, 1977.
The American View: Art from 1770 to 1978. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1978. Exhibition catalogue (1978 Kennedy Galleries), no. 32, n.p. illus.
Rose, A. C. "Eastman Johnson and the Culture of American Individualism." In Eastman Johnson: Painting America, by Teresa A. Carobone and Patricia Hills. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum of Art, in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 2000. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 108 illus., p. 232.
MacGibeny, Abigael. "Eastman Johnson, 'America’s Rembrandt,' Was Nurtured by His Experience in Europe." the low countries (Belgium and The Netherlands), November 16, 2021, illus., as Self-Portrait.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-06-14; 1985-07-25
Examination notes: 1971-06-14: See frontispiece of 1907 Auction catalogue. Reds and browns—dry whites. Very free. Golden colors in drapery over chair. Eastman Johnson in the costume worn by him at the Twelfth Night celebration at the Century Club, New York, in 1899.
1985-07-25: Colors good and fresh. Minor touch-up in hat. Brown underpainting. Ruddy complexion. Impasto on cheeks. Line around mouth. Lips. Good impasto. Criss-cross in blue by right thigh. Ochres, umbers, sienna tones.
Hills 1985 opinion letter: Of the two dozen or so self-portraits [Johnson] painted in his lifetime, the version known as Self-Portrait in the Costume Worn by Him at the Twelfth Night Celebration at the Century Club, 1899 is clearly the best in terms of its presence, panache, and the authority of its painting handling. The colors are good and fresh, with only minor touch-up by a restorer here and there. (A small area in the upper left quadrant, along the right border, and a spot, not much bigger than the diameter of a pencil, on the hat. There may have been some work on the gold chain as well.) The style is typically Johnson’s with the brown underpainting serving as the half-tones (a method he had learned in Europe, specifically with Couture). The impasto that defines the ruddiness of his complexion is handled with assurance. Typically he has used a fine line (perhaps graphite) to define the outline of his lips and the edges of the nostrils. (This technique is more noticeable when a magnifying glass is used.) The colors—ochre, umber, sienna, with a highlight of blue criss-crosses on the leggings—are all typical of Johnson’s palette.
1985-07-25: Colors good and fresh. Minor touch-up in hat. Brown underpainting. Ruddy complexion. Impasto on cheeks. Line around mouth. Lips. Good impasto. Criss-cross in blue by right thigh. Ochres, umbers, sienna tones.
Hills 1985 opinion letter: Of the two dozen or so self-portraits [Johnson] painted in his lifetime, the version known as Self-Portrait in the Costume Worn by Him at the Twelfth Night Celebration at the Century Club, 1899 is clearly the best in terms of its presence, panache, and the authority of its painting handling. The colors are good and fresh, with only minor touch-up by a restorer here and there. (A small area in the upper left quadrant, along the right border, and a spot, not much bigger than the diameter of a pencil, on the hat. There may have been some work on the gold chain as well.) The style is typically Johnson’s with the brown underpainting serving as the half-tones (a method he had learned in Europe, specifically with Couture). The impasto that defines the ruddiness of his complexion is handled with assurance. Typically he has used a fine line (perhaps graphite) to define the outline of his lips and the edges of the nostrils. (This technique is more noticeable when a magnifying glass is used.) The colors—ochre, umber, sienna, with a highlight of blue criss-crosses on the leggings—are all typical of Johnson’s palette.
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
- Portrait pose:
- Portrait sitter families:
Record last updated May 31, 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, c.1899 (Hills no. 32.0.20)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=696 (accessed on April 20, 2024).