This tender family portrait of a father and his two sons was painted by Joshua Johnson, an artist bo

This tender family portrait of a father and his two sons was painted by Joshua Johnson, an artist born into slavery. The son of a white man and an enslaved African American woman, Johnson achieved his free status by 1798 and by the end of the eighteenth century, he was making his living as a portraitist in the more racially tolerant environment of Baltimore. Johnson had a talent for the tender delineation of family ties. Here, the small boys each extend an arm to their father and rest a pale hand on his sturdy form. Their father’s hand, open in his lap, suggests a gentle accessibility. Happy Fathers Day!Joshua Johnson (active circa 1795-1825). John Jacob Anderson and Sons, John and Edward, ca. 1812-1815. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum  -- source link

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