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(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Clayton Johns
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Clayton Johns

photographer
Dateabout 1888
Place MadeBoston, Massachusetts, United States, North America
MediumAlbumen print
Dimensions13.8 x 21.5 cm (5 7/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP1w24
eMuseum ID727622
EmbARK ObjectID24423
TMS Source ID8916
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on view
Web CommentaryComposer-pianist Clayton Johns (1857-1932) was one of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s closest friends as well as the beneficiary of her patronage. Gardner actively cultivated the reputations of local musicians like Johns, whom she engaged for many recitals at her homes and museum. While he never gained fame beyond her circle, Johns remained a vital figure within her musical world. Gardner collected several photographs of him, including this portrait of the composer presumably in his Beacon Hill parlor on Mount Vernon Street —a room replete with the comforts of a late 19th century bachelor’s pad.
MarksNotesInscribed in ink (on verso): To Mrs John L. Gardner / with the compliments of / No 5 Mount Vernon Place / November 9th 1888
Inscribed in pencil (on verso): Clayton Johns
ProvenanceNotesA gift from composer, pianist, and teacher Clayton Johns (1857-1932), Boston to Isabella Stewart Gardner on 9 November 1888.