Johnson began his career by making pencil portraits. Between 1849 and 1855 he studied painting at Dusseldorf, the Hague and Paris. He settled in New York and became famous as a genre painter. The artist traveled extensively from his native New England to the shores of Lake Superior to sketch and paint. During the Civil War, Johnson was present at numerous battles. The composition represents a scene after the Battle of Gettysburg when a wounded soldier dictates a letter for home to a young woman volunteer.
Johnson rendered the drawing for the United States Sanitary Commission, organized in 1861 to provide additional nurses, hospitals and ambulances for the military. It sponsored fairs throughout the North to raise funds. The bronze medallions in the frame were executed by Anthony C. Pauquet to commemorate the Philadelphia and Chicago fairs of 1864 and 1865. The original oak frame was probably designed by the architect Peter B. Wight for the owner of the drawing, E.W. Blatchford who was an active member of the Sanitary Commission.
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<P>Johnson began his career by making pencil portraits. Between 1849 and 1855 he studied painting at Dusseldorf, the Hague and Paris. He settled in New York and became famous as a genre painter. The artist traveled extensively from his native New England to the shores of Lake Superior to sketch and paint. During the Civil War, Johnson was present at numerous battles. The composition represents a scene after the Battle of Gettysburg when a wounded soldier dictates a letter for home to a young woman volunteer. </P><P>Johnson rendered the drawing for the United States Sanitary Commission, organized in 1861 to provide additional nurses, hospitals and ambulances for the military. It sponsored fairs throughout the North to raise funds. The bronze medallions in the frame were executed by Anthony C. Pauquet to commemorate the Philadelphia and Chicago fairs of 1864 and 1865. The original oak frame was probably designed by the architect Peter B. Wight for the owner of the drawing, E.W. Blatchford who was an active member of the Sanitary Commission.</P>
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