$11,750
Attributed to Joshua Johnson (1765-1830, active 1796-1824) Portrait of a Young Woman in White. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, showing a three-quarter length portrait of the woman wearing a white dress, standing before a rose bush, 24 1/8 x 20 1/8 in., in a later molded gilt gesso frame. Condition: Relined, retouch. Note: Joshua Johnson was the first known African-American professional portrait painter to work in the United States working in oil on canvas. He was born in the West Indies, came to the south in America, and became an itinerant portrait painter among wealthy plantation owners in Maryland and Virginia, possibly purchasing his freedom with his artwork.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2007-02-18
