Portrait of a Gentleman

Cornelius Johnson, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1635-1640, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne, 1956.11.27
Cornelius Johnson, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1635-1640, oil on canvas, sight 29 1224 12 in. (74.962.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne, 1956.11.27
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Gentleman
Date
ca. 1635-1640
Dimensions
sight 29 1224 12 in. (74.962.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — unidentified
  • Occupation — other — aristocrat
Object Number
1956.11.27

Artwork Description

When this portrait entered the Smithsonian it was thought to be a posthumous image of Henry, Prince of Wales, who died in 1612. Curators questioned this identification after comparing it to life portraits of the prince, whose features differ noticeably from those of this man. But the sitter’s long hair, lace collar, and elaborate sleeves mark him as a cavalier, a supporter of the king in the civil war that eventually drove Cornelius Johnson to Holland. When the portrait was painted, Johnson was still in England, where he held the distinction of “his Majesty’s servant in the quality of Picture drawer.” (Shaw, The Seventeenth-century Gaze, 1987) This painting came to the Smithsonian through Ralph Cross Johnson, who worked as an attorney in Maine and in Washington. Johnson built an impressive collection of European and American art, which he bequeathed to the National Collection.

Works by this artist (21 items)

Tidal Wave
Date1972
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
June Wayne, Tower of Babel A, from the series Fable Series, 1955, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Stone Circle Foundation, 1969.107
Tower of Babel A, from the series Fable Series
Date1955
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Escape II
Date1986
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
No Sun
Date1985
color lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Jesús Moroles, Lapstrake I, 1980, Georgia gray granite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alton and Emily Steiner, 2002.82
Lapstrake I
Date1980
Georgia gray granite
Not on view
John Safer, Chandelle, 1969, revised 2013, Lucite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.23
Chandelle
Date1969, revised 2013
Lucite
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Shell), early 1930s, mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1985.64.37
Untitled (Shell)
Dateearly 1930s
mixed media: paperboard, paper, shells
Not on view
Emery Blagdon, The Healing Machine, ca. 1955-1986, mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment and gift of Dan Dryden, friend of Emery Blagdon, the Kohler Foundation, Inc., and John E. and Douglas O. Robson, from the Margaret Z. Robson Collection, VR.2014.49.GRP
The Healing Machine
Dateca. 1955-1986
mixed media
On view