Portrait of Professor Barnard by Eastman Johnson

Portrait of Professor Barnard
Eastman Johnson (1824–1906)
Oil on board, 19 × 14 1/4 in.
Initialed lower right: E.J.
Inscribed on reverse: Pres' Barnard of / Columbia College / of N.Y. – by / Eastman Johnson

Seated in a rich red academic robe, Professor Frederick A.P. Barnard—President of Columbia College (now Columbia University)—is rendered with quiet dignity and gravitas. Eastman Johnson’s painterly brushwork and attention to tonal variation give vitality to both the figure and the expressive textures of the fabric, capturing the intellect and presence of one of 19th-century America’s leading educational reformers.

Eastman Johnson, co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and often called “The American Rembrandt,” was one of the foremost portraitists of his time. Known for his deeply human character studies and genre scenes, Johnson brought psychological insight and technical brilliance to his portraits of statesmen, scholars, and everyday Americans alike.

Provenance:
Kleemann Galleries, New York
Joseph Katz Collection

Exhibited:
(Possibly) Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1945

Literature:
Patricia Hills and Abigael MacGibeny, Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné, no. 31.1.8