Description:Waist-length portrait of middle-aged man with his body facing three-quarter left and his head turned slightly to the right looking directly at the viewer. His short-trimmed hair and his heavy brows are dark brown, and he is wearing a dark coat with satin lapels over a pleated white shirt. His black tie is loosely knotted at the stand-up collar of the shirt.
History:This portrait is of Henry Johnson, a former Governor, United States Senator and United States Congressman from Louisiana. Johnson is believed to have been born at Johnson's Station where Aquinas College now stands. He was born in 1783 and his father, Isaac Johnson, was already in the Cumberland settlements in 1780 and was married to Mary Dunham, daughter of Daniel Dunham of Dunham's Station where Belle Meade Plantation now stands. Henry was the deputy sheriff of Davidson County in 1800 and several years thereafter removed to Louisiana where he embarked on a lengthy political career. He served as governor when the Marquis de Lafayette visited America. Johnson married Elizabeth Rousby Key, the first cousin of Frances Scott Key.
Notes:This portrait was loaned to the State of Louisiana by the owner on the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. It was exhibited in the Old State Capitol for most of 2003.
