Emma Van Name | |
---|---|
Little Girl in Pink With a Goblet Filled With Strawberries | |
Artist | Joshua Johnson |
Year | c. 1805 |
Medium | oil paint, canvas |
Movement | naïve art |
Subject | girl |
Dimensions | 73.7 cm (29.0 in) × 58.4 cm (23.0 in) |
Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Accession No. | 2016.116 |
Identifiers | The Met object ID: 701989 |
Emma Van Name also known as Little Girl in Pink With a Goblet Filled With Strawberries is a 1805 portrait painting by self-taught American folk artist Joshua Johnson and is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]
The work depicts a female toddler from Maryland and was painted in Baltimore.[1][2]
It was rediscovered in the late 1950s by New York folk and modernist art dealer, Edith Halpert.[3] Afterward, it was included in numerous international exhibitions and is considered an icon of American folk painting.[4]
After being acquired by Edgar William Garbisch and his wife, Bernice Chrysler Garbisch they donated it to the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1970. However, the museum made a decision in 1978 to focus on "collecting in the 20th century.'' In 1988, it was sold for $660,000 at Sotheby's to art dealer Alexander Acevedo, more than 14 times the previous record at auction for any of Johnson's work.[4] Sotheby's folk-art specialist Nancy Druckman described it as "one of the most widely exhibited folk portraits."[4]
After the auction closed, actor Bill Cosby, owner of multiple Johnson works, was a critic of the sale.[4]
The work was acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016.[5]