Study of a Cedar

A massive cedar tree, scarred by peeling bark and bristling with ungainly branches, rises dramatically across this small canvas. The intimate perspective and closely observed details reflect ideas promoted by John Ruskin, a British critic who championed botanical and geological specificity. Johnson described the process of making paintings such as "Study of a Cedar" in Ruskinian terms: “[it is] an out-door study, painted entirely upon the spot, and is, as far as I was able to make it so, a literal portrait of the place. I placed my easel there and went to work earnestly to find out how Dame Nature made things, divesting myself of all thoughts of picture or Studio effects.”