Child with Strawberries

In December 1798, Joshua Johnson placed the following notice in the Baltimore Intelligencer: “As a self-taught genius, deriving from nature and industry his knowledge of the Art; and having experienced many insuperable obstacles in the pursuit of his studies, it is highly gratifying to him to make assurances of his ability to execute all commands with an effect, and in a style, which must give satisfaction.” Against the odds, Johnson had become a successful artist—he had been born into slavery and was apprenticed to a blacksmith, but he went on to be a portrait painter employed by the upwardly mobile merchant class in Baltimore.
Although not signed, this painting of an unidentified child resembles other paintings attributed to Johnson and can be dated to about 1803 to 1805. Johnson often used similar compositions, color palette, and props, such as baskets of red fruit and pink rose bushes, or items of clothing, like the blue dress of the sitter in this painting.
Purchased in 2021, this painting enhances the story of American painting told at the Walters, and it adds to the strong holdings of Johnson’s work found at the Maryland Center for History and Culture and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Commissioned, early 19th-century; Susanna (Susan) Helen (Wilcox) Dietrich (1873-1962), by descent; by descent to her great-grandson; sold at Christie’s, New York, 17 January, 2019 (lot 1220); Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, by purchase, 2021.