Family Group

c. 1800

Joshua Johnson

Associated Names
Joshua Johnson

Artist, American, born c. 1763, active 1796 - 1824

This painting looks like a family portrait with five people: two seated adults and three children. The person on the far left is a seated woman with dark hair styled up and short, curling bangs, wearing a gray dress with puffed sleeves and lace details at the neckline. She holds a folded piece of paper in her lap and has one arm around the girl next to her. On her right stand two young girls with curly reddish-brown hair tied back, both dressed in white dresses with puffed sleeves and lace around the necklines. The girl to the left holds a pink flower, while the other holds a small pink bud. On their right is a seated man with short reddish-brown hair, wearing a dark jacket over a yellow vest and a white cravat and green trousers, holding a small book partially open. Standing to the right, partially behind the man, is a young boy dressed in a green coat with gold buttons over a pink vest and white shirt. All five of the people have pale skin. Behind the family is a black semi-circle, and around that is a gradient of brown, darker at the top and lighter towards the bottom.

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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

This painting looks like a family portrait with five people: two seated adults and three children. The person on the far left is a seated woman with dark hair styled up and short, curling bangs, wearing a gray dress with puffed sleeves and lace details at the neckline. She holds a folded piece of paper in her lap and has one arm around the girl next to her. On her right stand two young girls with curly reddish-brown hair tied back, both dressed in white dresses with puffed sleeves and lace around the necklines. The girl to the left holds a pink flower, while the other holds a small pink bud. On their right is a seated man with short reddish-brown hair, wearing a dark jacket over a yellow vest and a white cravat and green trousers, holding a small book partially open. Standing to the right, partially behind the man, is a young boy dressed in a green coat with gold buttons over a pink vest and white shirt. All five of the people have pale skin. Behind the family is a black semi-circle, and around that is a gradient of brown, darker at the top and lighter towards the bottom.

Article:  Who Is Joshua Johnson? 7 Things to Know

The Maryland-based artist is one of America’s earliest-documented  professional Black portraitists.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Helena Penrose, Southbury, Connecticut, until 1964), (sale, Southbury, Connecticut, October 20-23, 1964); to (John Bihler and Henry Coger as agents) Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch;[1] by bequest to NGA, 1980.
[1] The provenance as given in Caroline Weekley et al., Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter [exh. cat.], Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, (Williamsburg, Virginia, 1987), 132, is incorrect.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Exh. cat. Traveling exh. by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 38, color repro. First venue: Museum of American Folk Art, New York.

1988

  • La Nascita di Una Nazione: Pittori americani dalla National Gallery of Art di Washington 1730-1880, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, Bologna; Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna di Ca'Pesaro, Venice, 1988-1989, no. 38, repro.

1993

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia, 1993.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1993-1994.

1994

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Heckscher Museum, Huntington, New York, 1994.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baton Rouge, 1994-1995.

1995

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Pensacola Museum of Art, Florida, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Boise Art Museum, Idaho, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), McKissick Museum, Columbia, South Carolina, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1995-1996.

1996

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainseville, 1996-1997.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1996.

1997

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 1997.

1998

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1998.

Bibliography

1983

  • Perry, Mary Lynn. "Joshua Johnson: His Historical Context and His Art." M.A. thesis. George Washington University, Washington, 1983: iii, 90-91, 127-130, 164, 232, 233.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 68, repro.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 291, color repro.

1992

  • Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 226-228, repro. 227.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 213, repro.

2021

  • Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. Joshua Johnson: Portraitist of Early American Baltimore. Hagerstown, MD, 2021: 28, fig. 18, 56, fig. 5.

Wikidata ID

Q20180577

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