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| Portrait of Dolley Madison by Eastman Johnson |
"In the tradition of early nineteenth-century 'face-painters,' Eastman Johnson appears to have moved from town to town in southern Maine to execute the portraits with which he first earned his reputation. A writer for the 'Portland Advertiser' noted the rapid rise of this 'very promising young artist' and remarked, 'Considering the extreme simplicity of [Johnson's] process, for he uses only black crayon, with a very little white for lights, the results are extraordinary.'
When his father assumed the position of chief clerk in the Navy Department's Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repair, he went to Washington with his family. During this time he made contact with a roster of famous sitters. By March 1846 he counted the famous Dolley Madison and Mrs. Alexander Hamilton among the notables whose portraits he had drawn.
In a recollection fifty years later, he wrote: 'Mrs. Madison wandered in of her own accord and I asked her to let me make a sketch of her to which she readily assented. It was a perfectly good likeness and a pretty frowsy old lady she was. I value it very much and would not be willing to have it go out of my possession..."
He also told his father, "I take pleasure in going every morning to her house. She comes in at ten o0clock in full dress. She looks quite imposing with her white satin turban and black velvet dress and a countenance so full of benignity and gentleness. Today she was telling me of Lafayette, Mr. Jefferson, and others.'
To be continued
(Excerpts from "Eastman Johnson: Painting America" by Teresa Carbone and Patricia Hills.)
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