Portrait of a Woman

Eastman Johnson

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Johnson developed drawing skills as an apprentice in a Boston lithography shop and perfected that talent over years of taking portrait likenesses on paper and artistic study in Düsseldorf, The Hague, and Paris. He was especially adept at handling charcoal and chalk, and this skill is evident in the present drawing. As was characteristic of his technique, Johnson sketched the woman’s neckline and dress in relatively rough, unblended strokes of charcoal and chalk, so that the contrast between the sitter’s head and body is striking. The drawing is a tour de force of draftsmanship, notable for the accomplished handling of difficult media.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art