Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

Object Details

Artist

Betsy Graves Reyneau, 6 Jun 1888 - 18 Oct 1964

Sitter

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, 12 Jan 1890 - 10 Sep 1976

Provenance

Harmon Foundation; gift 1967 to NPG.

Collection Description

The Harmon Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in New York City (active 1922–1967), included this portrait in their exhibition Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin, which opened at the Smithsonian in 1944 and documented noteworthy African Americans’ contributions to the country. Modeling their goal of social equality, the Harmon sought portraits from African American artist Laura Wheeler Waring and Euro-American artist Betsy Graves Reyneau. The two painters followed the conventional codes of academic portraiture, seeking to convey their sitters’ extraordinary accomplishments. This painting, along with a variety of educational materials, toured nation-wide for ten years, serving as a visual rebuttal to racism.

La Harmon Foundation, entidad filantrópica con sede en la ciudad de Nueva York (activa entre 1922 y 1967), incluyó este retrato en Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin (Retratos de estadounidenses destacados de origen negro), una exposición inaugurada en la Smithsonian en 1944 que documentó las aportaciones de afroamericanos notables al país. A tono con sus ideales de igualdad social, la fundación encargó retratos a la artista afroamericana Laura Wheeler Waring y a la euroamericana Betsy Graves Reyneau. Ambas adoptaron los códigos convencionales del retrato académico para comunicar en sus obras los logros extraordinarios de sus modelos. Esta pintura, junto con diversos materiales educativos, viajó por la nación durante diez años planteando una impugnación visual del racismo.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Harmon Foundation

1943

Object number

NPG.67.84

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© Peter Edward Fayard

Type

Painting

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Accurate: 101.5 x 76 cm (39 15/16 x 29 15/16")

Frame: 115.6 × 90.2 × 4.4 cm (45 1/2 × 35 1/2 × 1 3/4")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location

Currently not on view

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses

Home Furnishings\Furniture\Bookcase

Costume\Academic\Cap and gown

Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Necktie

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson: Male

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Administrator\University administrator\University president

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson: Religion and Spirituality\Clergy\Minister

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.67.84

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm44b868748-1330-43d6-8f82-b17c136d59b0