Portrait of Richard John Cock c. 1817
joshuajohnson
minneapolisinstituteofart
oil-on-canvas
character portrait
portrait reference
animal portrait
united-states
animal drawing portrait
portrait drawing
surrealist
oil-on-canvas
portrait art
portrait character photography
fine art portrait
celebrity portrait
Joshua Johnson's "Portrait of Richard John Cock" (c. 1817) depicts a young boy holding a bow and arrow in a verdant landscape setting. The portrait is a fine example of American folk art, capturing the subject's innocence with a charming simplicity. Johnson, a free Black artist active in Baltimore, was known for his skillful rendering of figures and his ability to convey personality through subtle details. This work, currently housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is a testament to Johnson's artistic talents and a valuable piece of African American art history.
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Joshua Johnson was the earliest documented professional Black portrait painter in the United States, who forged a successful career primarily in Baltimore, Maryland. A freedman, Johnson attracted prominent clients through a newspaper advertisement referring to himself as a “self-taught genius” inspired by nature. His patrons included politicians, doctors, clergymen, and merchants. Johnson made several paintings memorializing children after their deaths, commissioned by their grieving families. This full-length portrait depicts Richard John Cock, who died at age 9 in 1817. Here, Richard stands in a lush garden, surrounded by sweet-scented roses and pointing to a moth. Because of the insect’s life cycle, this symbol is aligned with the hope for rebirth, regeneration, transformation, and change.
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