Artwork
Emma Van Name
Emma Van Name is an oil painting by the Naïve art artist Joshua Johnson. It dates from 1805 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A Maryland toddler grips a strawberry beside a goblet so tall it rises to her waist, her gaze steady and oddly poised.
A Maryland toddler grips a strawberry beside a goblet so tall it rises to her waist, her gaze steady and oddly poised. Joshua Johnson, the earliest known professional African American painter, made this oil around 1805 in Baltimore. A New York dealer rediscovered it in the late 1950s; after years at the Whitney it was sold amid public protest, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired it in 2016.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a young female toddler from Maryland, shown holding a goblet filled with strawberries. Additional elements in the portrait include a whistle, a necklace, a cap adorned with lace and a rosette, a curtain, a window, and the girl's shoes. The prominent strawberry motif, along with the formal dress and props such as the whistle and goblet, suggests a staged image of childhood, though the sources do not ascribe explicit symbolic meaning to these objects.
The work is primarily a portrait of the named sitter, Emma Van Name, and its meaning resides in its representation of a well-dressed child in early 19th-century American folk portraiture.
Technique & Style
Joshua Johnson executed this portrait in oil paint on canvas, a medium and support typical of his work. The painting exemplifies the naïve (folk) style, characterized by simplified forms, limited modeling, and a straightforward, candid presentation of the sitter. The lack of academic training is evident in the handling of perspective and the flattened pictorial space, yet the artist achieves a strong decorative and expressive quality through bold colors and meticulous attention to costume details such as the cap, lace, and rosette.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1805 by Joshua Johnson in Baltimore, the portrait depicts a female toddler from Maryland. The work was rediscovered in the late 1950s by New York dealer Edith Halpert. It was subsequently acquired by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who donated it to the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1970.
The Whitney deaccessioned the painting in 1978, and it was sold at Sotheby's in 1988 for $660,000 to dealer Alexander Acevedo. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the portrait in 2016. No accession number is recorded in the available sources.
Context
Rediscovered in the late 1950s by dealer Edith Halpert, the painting was subsequently included in numerous exhibitions and became regarded as an icon of American folk painting. The work exemplifies Joshua Johnson's position as a self-taught early American portraitist working in the naïve tradition. It was featured in the exhibition Joshua Johnson: Freeman and Early American Portrait Painter.
Its 1988 sale at Sotheby's set a record for the artist, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's acquisition of the work in 2016 confirmed its standing as a celebrated example of American folk portraiture.
Legacy
After its rediscovery, the portrait was widely exhibited and recognized as an icon of American folk painting. Donated to the Whitney Museum in 1970, it was deaccessioned in 1978 and in 1988 sold for $660,000 at Sotheby's, many times the previous record for a work by Johnson, and was described by a Sotheby's specialist as one of the most widely exhibited folk portraits. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the painting in 2016.
Its record auction price and prominent museum holdings cemented its legacy as a landmark of early American folk art.
Overview
This oil on canvas portrait, titled Emma Van Name, was created by Joshua Johnson around 1805. It depicts a young child, the subject of the work, and is also known by the descriptive title Little Girl in Pink With a Goblet Filled With Strawberries. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Johnson is recognized as an early American folk artist.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
