John G. Johnson
Encyclopedia
John Graver Johnson was an American
corporate lawyer and art collector. The Philadelphia law firm that he founded in 1863 continues under the name Saul Ewing
. His collection of nearly 1,300 paintings forms the core of early European works at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
.
. He had an extraordinary memory, reportedly memorizing Shakespeare plays as a youth, and reciting extended citations of law in the courtroom.
He argued 168 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning in 1884, defending the Standard Oil Company, the Sugar Trust, the American Tobacco Company
, and the Northern Securities Company
. He was counsel for J. P. Morgan & Company, the Pennsylvania Railroad
, the New York Central Railroad
, the Baldwin Locomotive Company, the United States Steel Corporation, the Amalgamated Copper Company
, the American Distilleries Company
, and many other corporations and banks.
Johnson declined offers to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court from U.S. Presidents James Garfield
and Grover Cleveland
. U.S. President William McKinley
unsuccessfully sought him to become U.S. Attorney General.
In an April 15, 1917 obituary, The New York Times
called him, "the greatest lawyer in the English-speaking world," and, "probably less known to the general public in proportion to his importance than any other man in the United States."
, Mariano Fortuny
, Edouard Manet
, Claude Monet
, John Singer Sargent
, and James Whistler. He wrote a book about his annual trips to Europe: Sight-Seeing in Berlin and Holland among Pictures (1892).
In his Will, he left his collection to the City of Philadelphia with the provision that it continue to be exhibited at 510 South Broad Street. This arrangement lasted only until June 1933, when the collection was tranferred to the newly-built Philadelphia Museum of Art
, supposedly on a "temporary" basis. Exhibited at PMA for more than 50 years as a separate collection, in the 1980s permission was granted for PMA to integrate Johnson's paintings into its full collection.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
corporate lawyer and art collector. The Philadelphia law firm that he founded in 1863 continues under the name Saul Ewing
Saul Ewing
Saul Ewing LLP is a Philadelphia-based law firm. In addition to their main headquarters Saul Ewing has eight Mid-Atlantic regional offices in Baltimore, MD, Chesterbrook, PA, Harrisburg, PA, Newark, NJ, New York, NY, Princeton, NJ, Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.- History :Saul Ewing's...
. His collection of nearly 1,300 paintings forms the core of early European works at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
.
Career
The son of a blacksmith, he attended Philadelphia public schools, and apprenticed in the law offices of Benjamin & Murray Rush. He was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in February 1863, and served briefly in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He had an extraordinary memory, reportedly memorizing Shakespeare plays as a youth, and reciting extended citations of law in the courtroom.
He argued 168 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning in 1884, defending the Standard Oil Company, the Sugar Trust, the American Tobacco Company
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company...
, and the Northern Securities Company
Northern Securities Company
The Northern Securities Company was an important United States railroad trust formed in 1902 by E. H. Harriman, James J. Hill, J.P. Morgan, J. D. Rockefeller, and their associates. The company controlled the Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad,...
. He was counsel for J. P. Morgan & Company, the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, the Baldwin Locomotive Company, the United States Steel Corporation, the Amalgamated Copper Company
Anaconda Copper
Anaconda Copper Mining Company was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century. The Anaconda was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Company on January 12, 1977...
, the American Distilleries Company
W.A. Gaines and Company
W.A. Gaines and Company was a liquor company owned by Edson Bradley that specialized in American made whiskeys.-History:...
, and many other corporations and banks.
Johnson declined offers to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court from U.S. Presidents James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
and Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. U.S. President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
unsuccessfully sought him to become U.S. Attorney General.
In an April 15, 1917 obituary, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called him, "the greatest lawyer in the English-speaking world," and, "probably less known to the general public in proportion to his importance than any other man in the United States."
Art collecting
Johnson amassed one of the finest art collections in the United States. Relying on his own judgment and study, he concentrated on early-Renaissance Italian primitives, Spanish, Flemish, and Dutch paintings. He also bought works by artists who were his contemporaries, including Eduard CharlemontEduard Charlemont
Eduard Charlemont was an Austrian painter.-Early life:Eduard Charlemont was born in Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire in 1848. His father, Matthias Adolf Charlemont, was also a painter, specializing in painting miniature portraits. His younger brother Hugo Charlemont was an equally famous...
, Mariano Fortuny
Mariano Fortuny (painter)
Marià Fortuny i Marsal , known more simply as Marià Fortuny or Mariano Fortuny, was a Catalan painter...
, Edouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
, Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, and James Whistler. He wrote a book about his annual trips to Europe: Sight-Seeing in Berlin and Holland among Pictures (1892).
Family and bequest
In 1875, he married Ida Powel Morrell, a widow with three small children. They had no children together. He built a house at 506 South Broad Street, and later bought the adjacent house to exhibit his art collection.In his Will, he left his collection to the City of Philadelphia with the provision that it continue to be exhibited at 510 South Broad Street. This arrangement lasted only until June 1933, when the collection was tranferred to the newly-built Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, supposedly on a "temporary" basis. Exhibited at PMA for more than 50 years as a separate collection, in the 1980s permission was granted for PMA to integrate Johnson's paintings into its full collection.
External links
- "John G. Johnson, Giant of the Philadelphia Bar" http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/TPLWinter07Johnson?appNum=2
- Catalogue of the John G. Johnson Collection (1914) http://books.google.com/books/about/Catalogue_of_a_collection_of_paintings_a.html?id=aIAEAAAAYAAJ
- "John G. Johnson's Art," Time Magazine, November 10, 1941 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,851423,00.html
- John G. Johnson Papers, Philadelphia Museum of Art http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=JGJ&p=cs