Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Image courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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31.5 U.S. Portraits, Children and Adolescents
Johnson’s portraits of children and adolescents were often part of a larger commission to paint whole families. In some instances, the children had died and their parents wished to have a reminder of their loved ones. —PH
Hills no. 31.5.2
Lewis Einstein
Alternate title: Portrait
1882, May 20
Oil on canvas
54 x 40 in. (137.2 x 101.6 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson/May 20 – 1882 [As in other Johnson paintings of the 1880s and 1890s, the "8"s have a flat top]
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Description/Remarks
Letter from Lewis Einstein, the sitter, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1948, quoted in Natalie Spassky, American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845, 1985: "The subject is myself, at the age of five, and it was painted in the 'Japanese' room of my father's house at 39 West 57th Street."
Exhibitions
Society of American Artists, New York, April 6–May 6, 1882. (Exhibition catalogue: Society of American Artists 1882), no. 56, as Portrait, owner Mr. Einstein.
References
"Fine Arts: The Society of American Artists." The Independent (New York), April 27, 1882, p. 8.
Fifth Annual Exhibition at the American Art Gallery. New York: Society of American Artists, 1882. Exhibition catalogue (1882 Society of American Artists), p. 10, no. 56, as Portrait, Owned by Mr. Einstein, not for sale.
Lewis Einstein letter to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1948, "The Eastman Johnson portrait about which you write me has never been out of the possession of my family. The subject is myself, at the age of five, and it was painted in the 'Japanese' room of my father's house at 39 West 57th Street. It was taken to England by my mother in 1910 and since then has hung either in my sister's house near Cambridge, or at my son-in-law's the Marquess of Tweeddale in Scotland [William George Montagu Hay, 11th marquess, who married Marguerite Christine Ralli, step-daughter of Lewis Einstein, in 1912]. It has never been exhibited, The portrait [of Lewis's sister, Florence], which is in a private collection, is the same size as the one of Einstein and was probably intended as a companion to it. The paintings complement each other in the angular pose of the figures and the use of oblique planes and diagonals," quoted in Spassky 1985, p. 11.
Spassky, Natalie, with Linda Bantel, Doreen Bolger Burke, Meg Perlman, and Amy L. Walsh. American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): c. 1971; 2016-11-03
Examination notes: c. 1971: Standing portrait of a young boy in elaborate fancy costume.
2016-11-03: O/c. Case 12Q in Study Center. Neck looks skinned (?).
2016-11-03: O/c. Case 12Q in Study Center. Neck looks skinned (?).
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Einstein, Lewis David
Biography:
Lewis David Einstein (1877–1967). Son of David Lewis Einstein and Caroline Einstein; brother of Florence Einstein Seligman Walston (1873–1953).
Keywords
- Portrait pose:
- Portrait sitter families:
- Inscription type:
Record last updated September 7, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Lewis Einstein, 1882, May 20 (Hills no. 31.5.2)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=784 (accessed on October 6, 2024).