This portrait is a painting of tycoon Jay Gould painted in 1896 by American artist Eastman Johnson. Johnson is a somewhat famous artist known for his paintings of high ranking Washington officials from the time period and several other of his portraits are featured at the National Portrait Gallery. From an early age, Johnson manifested a natural taste for drawing and sketching, and used his talents to draw portraits of his family and friends. When his father earned a high post in Washington D.C., his career boosted as he was given the opportunity to paint portraits of famous people such as John Quincy Adams and Dolley Madison. His painting style was highly realistic, paying careful attention to light sources. Though it is not known why he painted
