Name: Robert Johnston
Occupation: Special Assistant, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Residence: Arlington
The Work: Romaine Brooks, Self-Portrait, oil on canvas, 1923; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist
What I want to tell you this piece: In my early days at the museum in the late ’60s, I had a great job where I got to unpack the works of art. I saw everything that came in. The Romaine Brooks paintings [included in the current “Grand Salon” exhibition] were some of the first shipped over from Paris. You can’t imagine the effect of opening these boxes from France. These paintings were so different from anything else in the collection. Brooks really was kind of unknown. Her works hadn’t been exhibited since the ’30s, I think.
In her “Self-Portrait,” you get an incredible sense of individuality from this woman. There’s a psychological centeredness. She’s there. She’s with you.
Brooks was honored by the French government for her work during World War I. She’s wearing her red Legion of Honor award here. You could see this as an official portrait, but it doesn’t have that effect. You’re not drawn to that. You’re drawn to the way she has you in her viewing grip, and to this desolate landscape in the background.
As we were looking at these for the Grand Salon installations, the palette — you read it described as being Whistler-like; muted, tasteful, almost too tasteful. Monochromatic. The strength in the way she projects the people she’s painting is this strong psychological power and physical presence that other, more decorative works don’t give you.
Brooks had an incredible, rugged childhood that you couldn’t dream up if you tried. Her mother was not traditional — she farmed her out to other people and schools, and Romaine was on her own much of the time. She also had to care for her brother, who was not well at all. She had a really horrendous childhood. I think the background of this painting says a lot about her own history and the difficult life she’s led. But she’s out in front of it. It’s in her past.
