Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906

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American painter and printmaker Jonathan Eastman Johnson was born in Lovell, Maine in 1824. After apprenticing with a Boston lithographer, he moved to Washington D.C. in 1845 and became a portraitist of prominent Americans, including Daniel Webster and Dolly Madison. Beginning in 1849, Johnson spent two years at the Royal Academy in Dusseldorf, Germany, studying with Emanuel Leutze, and three years at The Hague. After returning to America in 1855, he settled in New York and focused on painting American genre subjects including Native Americans, African Americans, and farmers. He married Elizabeth Buckley in 1869, and they bought a home in Nantucket where he spent every summer for the rest of his life. After 1880, as the popularity of genre paintings declined, Johnson focused again on portraiture. He died in 1906.

From the guide to the Eastman Johnson letters, 1851-1899, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

American artist.

From the description of Letters, 1868 Feb. 11-April 16, New York, to Louis Prang. (Boston Athenaeum). WorldCat record id: 170925240

Eastman Johnson (1824-1906) was an American artist and portrait painter, best known for his paintings of landscapes and scenes from everyday life (particularly Maine) and his portraits of everyday people. He also painted portraits of prominent Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He studied in Holland (and was sometimes known as "the American Rembrandt" for his work's resemblance to that of the 17th century Dutch master), but spent much of his career in Massachusetts, though he also travelled in Italy, Paris, and Germany. He was a member of the Boston Art Club Member, Brooklyn Art Association, National Academy of Design, Society of American Artists, and the Society of Illustrators.

From the guide to the Eastman Johnson Letters, 1861-1896, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)

Eastman Johnson was a popular and accomplished 19th century American painter. He moved from New England to Washington to Europe to New York, developing a sophisticated, cosmopolitan style, represented in both portraits and sentimental genre pieces, which proved to be popular in Europe as well as America.

From the description of Eastman Johnson letter to E.C. Stedman, 1894 June 11. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 50757830

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Research material on George Peter Alexander Healy Archives of American Art
referencedIn Weir, John Ferguson, 1841-1926. John Ferguson Weir papers, 1838-1957 (inclusive), 1861-1928 (bulk). Yale University Library
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Franz R. and Kathryn M. Stenzel collection of western American art, 1728-1966 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf JOHNSON, EASTMAN. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
creatorOf Eastman Johnson Letters, 1861-1896 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906,. Autograph letter signed from Jonathan Eastman Johnson to Cagle [manuscript], 1861 December 2. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Brooklyn Museum of Art. Dept. of Painting and Sculpture. Institutional file, Exhibitions. Eastman Johnson: painting America. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Alfred Stebbins autograph collection Archives of American Art
referencedIn Ralph Waldo Emerson letters from various correspondents, ca. 1814-1882. Houghton Library
creatorOf Jervis McEntee papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Howells family papers, 1850-1954 (inclusive). Houghton Library
referencedIn Photographs of Eastman Johnson portraits Archives of American Art
creatorOf Stebbins, Alfred. Alfred Stebbins autograph collection, 1834-1872. Winterthur Library
referencedIn Sherburne Bluffs collection, 1878-1883. Nantucket Hist Association
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Photographs of drawings of Native Americans, 1857. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Jervis McEntee papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Correspondence with Henry Charles Lea, 1890. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Irving F. Burton papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Stanford White Papers, 1873-1928 New-York Historical Society
referencedIn May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871. Samuel J. May diary, 1867. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Letters, 1868 Feb. 11-April 16, New York, to Louis Prang. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Henry Ernest Schnakenberg papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Letter, 1896 December 12, n.p., to John Elderkin. William & Mary Libraries
referencedIn Peabody, Marian Lawrence. 1875-1974. Letters and family papers, 1783-1957 Houghton Library
referencedIn Augustus Mendon Lord collection, Lord (Augustus Mendon) collection, (bulk 1876-1908), 1778-1908 John Hay Library, Special Collections
referencedIn Sylvester Rosa Koehler Correspondence, 1877-1896 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
creatorOf Eastman Johnson letters Archives of American Art
referencedIn Albert Duveen art reference files Archives of American Art
referencedIn May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871. Samuel J. May diary, 1869. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Richard Rathbun letters Archives of American Art
creatorOf Comfort family papers relating to George Fisk Comfort Archives of American Art
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Eastman Johnson letter to E.C. Stedman, 1894 June 11. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
creatorOf Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Johnson, Eastman, 1824-1906 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Edward Gay and Gay family papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf William T. Evans letters Archives of American Art
creatorOf William Cullen Bryant and Parke Godwin papers Archives of American Art
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Benson, Eugene, 1837-1908 person
associatedWith Brooklyn Museum of Art. Dept. of Painting and Sculpture. corporateBody
associatedWith Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878. person
associatedWith Burton, Irving F. (Irving Frederick), 1918- person
correspondedWith Cagle, fl. 1861 person
associatedWith Comfort, George Fisk, 1834-1910. person
associatedWith De Mare, Marie. person
associatedWith Duveen, Albert. person
associatedWith Elderkin, John, 1841-1926 person
correspondedWith Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882 person
associatedWith Evans, William T., 1843-1918. person
associatedWith Gay, Edward, 1837-1928. person
associatedWith Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 person
associatedWith Lanman, Charles, 1819-1895 person
associatedWith Leutze, Emanuel, 1816-1868 person
associatedWith Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947 person
correspondedWith Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 person
associatedWith Lord, Augustus Mendon, 1861-1941 person
associatedWith May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871. person
associatedWith McEntee, Jervis, 1828-1891. person
associatedWith McEntee, Jervis, 1829-1891 person
associatedWith Newton, William H. person
associatedWith Ordway, Alfred T., 1819-1897 person
correspondedWith Peabody, Marian Lawrence, 1875- person
associatedWith Prang, Louis, 1824-1909. person
associatedWith Rathbun, Richard, 1852-1918. person
associatedWith Schnakenberg, H. E. (Henry Ernest), 1892-1970. person
associatedWith Stebbins, Alfred. person
associatedWith Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 1833-1908, person
associatedWith Stenzel, Franz. person
associatedWith Stenzel, Franz. person
associatedWith Stenzel, Franz. person
correspondedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874 person
associatedWith Thieme, A. C. person
associatedWith Weir, John Ferguson, 1841-1926. person
associatedWith Wolf, Henry, 1852-1916 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Grand Portage (Minn.)
United States
United States
Superior (Wis.)
Subject
Art
Artists
Chromolithography
Indians of North America
Painters
Painters
Painters
Portrait painters
Portrait painters
Painting, American
Painting, Modern
Painting, Modern
Portrait painting
Portraits, American
Occupation
Artists
Painter
Activity

Person

Birth 1824-07-29

Death 1906-05-05

Americans

Information

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