Celebrating Eastman Johnson’s Bicentennial  •  1824 | 2024

In 2024 we celebrate Eastman Johnson’s bicentennial.

Born on July 29, 1824, in Lovell, Maine, Johnson first made a name for himself as a portrait draftsman in New England. He traveled to Europe to learn to paint, then returned to America where he set up a studio in New York and quickly established himself as an acclaimed genre painter. In 1859, he became a member of the National Academy of Design. Later in his career he was known as an in-demand portrait painter of business and civic leaders and their families, as well as three U.S. presidents from life. Two hundred years after his birth, the artworks he created offer a historical perspective on current events.

From June 6 through December 8, 2024, the exhibition Eastman Johnson and Maine celebrates the artist at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine. It is the first-ever solo show of Johnson’s work in his home state. It features Johnson’s paintings of rural life and appears side-by-side with Eastman Johnson in Context, which juxtaposes his works with those of other nineteenth-century artists in the Colby Collection.

This fall the National Academy of Design, the long-term steward of the Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné (EJCR), will present programming relating Johnson’s work in their collection to the work of contemporary Academicians, illuminating significant connections between past and present. Sign up for the National Academy's newsletter to stay tuned.

There are many ways to learn more about Johnson:

* For the deepest dives into Johnson’s life, artistic development, and social impact, see the many publications by Patricia Hills.

* For a quick overview of Johnson’s geographical and artistic journey, see Eastman Johnson, ‘America’s Rembrandt,’ Was Nurtured by His Experience in Europe by Abigael MacGibeny.

* For scholars’ analyses of works by Johnson that have new and different meanings today, see the Perspectives series of essays by Jeffrey Stewart, Alan Wallach, Scott Manning Stevens, Rika Burnham, and Adrienne Childs.

We encourage everyone to experience Johnson’s work wherever it is on view. His paintings and drawings are held in nearly 200 public collections. Some, like the Brooklyn Museum, New-York Historical Society, and Nantucket Historical Association, have particularly deep collections of his work. Visit museum websites or call institutions in advance to confirm the availability of the work you would like to see.

The Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné is the authoritative source for information about Johnson’s paintings, drawings, and prints. We welcome you to explore the EJCR at eastmanjohnson.org to learn more about Johnson and his contributions to American art history and culture during this milestone year.

- Patricia Hills and Abigael MacGibeny