MS01.01.03.B01.F25.038

12

Johnston's formula for painting people in a setting
which emphasized their dignity and genuine sense of pride
and accomplishment was by no means a new phenomenon in
American art for he no doubt learned much of his craftsman-
ship from observing the art of James Willson Peale whose
portraits were admired as far away as Europe. But other
artists were to follow his example and paint images of
Blacks who showed pride of race and a sense of dignity
equal to that seen among subjects of persons of the majority
culture.

This portrait of (SLIDE #16) [u]Abraham Hanson[/u] done around
1825 was painted by Jeremiah Pearson Hardy. Hardy was born
in New Hampshire in 1800. He settled in Maine in 1811 where
he worked from 1824 until his death in 1888. His portrait
of the well known Bangor, Maine barber/abolitionist and
humorist, Abraham, is one of the first images of an American
Black created to celebrate the individual personage of one
over and against the service one may have rendered another
person10, Abraham, as he was affectionately known in all of
Bangor's lively social circles, is said to have taken the
Abolitionist cause seriously and offered his talent as a
highly respected barber to an exclusive white community
to politic in the favor of anti-slavery causes and the
freedom movement. He was equally well known for the sale
of sumptuous dinners of "finger licking" fried chicken,
the proceeds from which he turned over to Abolitionist and