The Westwood Children

c. 1807

Joshua Johnson

Painter, American, born c. 1763, active 1796 - 1824

Three pale-skinned, blue-eyed children wearing green suits stand in a row facing us in this horizontal portrait painting. They all have round faces and full, pink cheeks. The tallest child is to the right, and he has shoulder-length cinnamon-brown hair. The other two come up to his shoulder and have blond hair. The tallest puts one arm on the far shoulder of the middle child, and the two smaller children hold hands. Each wears a pine-green, one-piece outfit with pewter-gray buttons, a wide, ivory-white collar lined with ruffles, and black, shin-high boots. The boy on our left holds a branch of dark red cherries. The middle child holds a pink rose, and the tallest a basket filled with pink roses. A black dog holding a gray and mauve-pink bird in its mouth stands in profile facing our left in the lower right corner of the canvas. The room around them has a tan-colored floor and gray walls. The room opens onto an alcove to our right with a rectangular window. A slender tree is along the left edge of the opening and a few pale, pink-tinged gray mountains line the bottom edge. Clear blue sky fills the rest of the window.

Media Options

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Wearing nearly matching outfits, Henry, George, and John Westwood look out from the canvas. The brothers all have fair, wispy hair and delicate facial features. They touch one another tenderly, and each carries something from the outdoors, which we can see through the window.

Joshua Johnson uses vibrant color to bring the painting to life. The red and pink flowers, and even the dog’s gums, contrast with the brothers’ fashionable green suits. The earliest known professional Black artist in the United States, Johnson earned many commissions to paint his fellow Baltimore residents.
 

Information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Naive Paintings, pages 232-233, which is available as a free PDF.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 63

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

George Washington Westwood (the youngest child in the portrait), Baltimore; to his grand-niece, Grace Geddess Davis; to her sons, George Harvey Davis and Howard G. Davis, Baltimore; by whom sold 1955 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1959.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1948

  • An Exhibition of Portraits by Joshua Johnson, The Peale Museum, Baltimore, 1948, no. 14, (cat. by J. Hall Pleasants).

1957

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957, no. 30.

1958

  • The Charm of Youth, traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts, New York, 1958, no cat. known.

1960

  • American Painters of the South, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1960, no. 47.

1962

  • Exhibition of Early American Art, Academy of the Arts, Talbot County Historical Society, Easton, Maryland, 1962, no. 33.

1967

  • Ten Afro-American Artists of the 19th Century, Howard University, Washington, 1967, 10, (cat. by James A. Porter).

1970

  • Dimensions of Black, La Jolla Museum of Art, California, 1970, no. 163.

1971

  • Twenty-five Folk Artists: Their Lives and Work, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1971, no cat.

1973

  • American Primitive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Holland Union, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1973, exhibition guide (copy not located).

1975

  • The World of Franklin and Jefferson, traveling exhibition circulated by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, 6 venues (Paris, Warsaw, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles), 1975-1977, not included in cat.

1978

  • The American Folk Art Tradition: Paintings from the Garbisch Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978.

1981

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, 1981-1982, no. 10, color repro. (cat. by Ronald McKnight Melvin).

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, traveling exh. by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 41, color repro., detail p. 25. First venue: Museum of American Folk Art, New York.

1987

  • Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, 1987-1988, no. 45, color repro. (not shown at two Whitney Museum venues, NY and Stamford, CT).

1988

  • La Nascita di Una Nazione: Pittori americani dalla National Gallery of Art di Washington 1730-1880, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, Bologna; Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna di Ca'Pesaro, Venice, 1988-1989, no. 41, repro.

Bibliography

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 74, repro.

1976

  • Wilmerding, John. American Art. Hammondsworth, England, and New York, 1976: 53, 292, color pl. 53.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 94, pl. 57.

1980

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 10, no. 10, color repro.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 185, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 543, no. 819, color repro.

1985

  • Rubin, Cynthia Elyce. Southern Folk Art. Birmingham, Alabama, 1985: color repro. 54.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 68, no. 11, color repro.

1992

  • Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 232-233, color repro. 233.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 214, repro.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 301, no. 243, color repro.

2013

  • Smith, Roberta. "Curator, Tear Down These Walls." New York Times 162, no. 56,036 (February 3, 2013): AR-23, color repro.

2021

  • Fulco, Daniel. "Joshua Johnson: Pioneer of American Portraiture." Joshua Johnson: Portraitist of Early American Baltimore. Hagerstown, MD, 2021: 25, fig. 12.

2023

  • Ramos, Carmen E. "Collecting for the Nation." _Art for the Nation_no. 67 (Fall 2023): 11, fig. 12.

Wikidata ID

Q20182272

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