Catalogue Entry
When Johnson returned from Europe late in 1855 and moved in with his family in Washington, D.C., he began receiving portrait commissions. On his trip to Superior, Michigan, in 1856 and 1857, he did charcoal portrait drawings of family and friends. Like the commissioned drawings done earlier, Johnson generally used charcoal (named in some records as black chalk) with touches of white, but the strong chiaroscuro is less evident for his women sitters. Many of these portraits are in pastel, which creates a softer visage. In his later professional years as a painter of oil portraits there are few portraits of women. His art commanded high prices; perhaps families were then reluctant to include their women members as portrait sitters. —PH
Harriet Emily Nichols Ruggles (1809–1891). Wife of John Gould Ruggles (1806–1868); mother of Theodosia Ruggles Hatch (1829–1909).
Alfrederick Smith Hatch (1829–1904). Prominent wall street broker, president of the New York Stock Exchange, 1883–1884, and enthusiastic art collector. Resided at 49 Park Avenue with his wife Theodosia Ruggles (1829–1908). Other family members including Theodosia’s mother, Alfrederick’s father, and their children are present in their group portrait by Johnson [Metropolitan Museum of Art website, accessed February 27, 2022].
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