American (probably Baltimore, MD c. 1763, active 1796-1824 probably Baltimore, MD)
Portrait of a Girl, c. 1810-1815
Former Title: Unidentified Lady
Painting
American
, 19th century
Oil on canvas
61 x 50.1 cm (24 x 19 3/4 in.)
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of William S. Lieberman
, 2007.133
Department of American Paintings, Sculpture & Decorative Arts
, Description
Joshua Johnson is the first documented African-American painter to work in the United States. He was a professional portrait painter who lived in Baltimore, Maryland. His birth and death dates, as well as place of birth and death, are unknown.
Marks
label: A paper label on the wooden backing of the frame reads: "FROM/FITZGERALD'S/Emporium of Fine Arts/No. 5 (5?) N. GAY STREET/ BALTIMORE."
Provenance
Bertha Slattery Lieberman, Baltimore, MD; to her son William S. Lieberman, New York, NY; to Washburn Gallery, New York, NY, 1987-2005; Estate of William S. Lieberman, 2005-2007; his bequest to the Fogg Museum, 2007.
Bibliography
Carolyn J. Weekley, Stiles Tuttle Colwill, Leroy Graham and Mary Ellen Hayward, Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter, exh. cat., Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore, MD, 1987), p. 150, cat. 63, ill.
Exhibition History
Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter, Maryland Historical Society, 09/26/1987 - 01/03/1988; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 01/17/1988 - 05/15/1988; Whitney Museum of American Art, 06/18/1988 - 08/25/1988; Whitney Museum of American Art, Stamford, CT Branch, 09/09/1988 - 11/09/1988