John R. Johnston with Painting (late 1850s): Art, History and Details

John R. Johnston with Painting (late 1850s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is John R. Johnston (American, 1820–1872).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This compelling self-portrait and the adjacent candid picture of his wife are the most significant and moving images in Johnston's personal photography album containing work by him and other distinguished photographers. For this appealing composition, he seated himself in a plainly appointed studio in front of one of his painted portraits placed on the floor. The position of the chair and his body add vitality to the image. Clearly a master of lighting, Johnson carefully controlled the natural illumination so that his face and hands were in brilliant contrast to his dark clothes and the dimly lit room. In this self-portrait, he successfully expressed both the sitter's strength of personality and character.

Object facts

• Title: John R. Johnston with Painting
• Date: late 1850s
• Creator attribution: John R. Johnston (American, 1820–1872)
• Culture: America
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: salted paper print from wet collodion negative
• Dimensions: Image: 20 x 14.8 cm (7 7/8 x 5 13/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
• Collection: PH - American 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2002.39

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.