Portrait of a Gentleman
Framed: 38 1/4 × 33 7/8 × 3 inches (97.16 × 86.04 × 7.62 cm)
- 211
Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD;
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Ceter, Colonial Williamsburg, VA;
The Whitney Museum of American Art, Midtown, New York and Stamford, CT, 1987-88;
Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter
Joshua Johnson was one of this country's earliest documented artists of color. In 1798 Johnson promoted himself in a newspaper advertisement as a "self-taught genius, deriving from nature and industry his knowledge of the art; and having experienced many insuperable obstacles in pursuit of his studies."
More than 80 portraits of elite and middle-class Baltimore merchants, such as this gentleman whose identity is unknown today, are attributed to Johnson. The status of Johnson's clients suggests his talents not only as a respected portraitist but also as an artist successfully navigating a racially complicated society.
The artist;
To a private collection in Baltimore by 1853;
With Roger Haase (b.1944) and Michael Birdsall (b. 1946), Art and Anitques, St. Paul, MN, by 1987;
To a private collection, 1987-2022;
With Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York, NY, 2022-2024;
Purchased by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of art through the Ever Glades Fund, Kansas City, MO, 2024.
