The Lord is My Shepherd (Eastman Johnson) He is sitting against a blue jacket, which may indicate service in the Union army. President Abraham Lincoln had recently authorized organization of the United States Colored Troops. This is one of several works by Eastman Johnson with African-American subjects. The Lord is My Shepherd (Eastman Johnson) The Lord is My Shepherd is an 1863 oil on wood painting by American artist Eastman Johnson. The painting measures 16 5/8 x 13 1/8 in. (42.3 x 33.2 cm.) and is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The title of the painting comes from Psalm 23, which begins with the
Psalm 151 father’s sheep. My hands made a harp; And who will tell my Lord? It was he who sent his messenger My brothers were handsome and tall, I went out to meet the Philistine, But I drew his own sword; </poem> Psalm 151 is recited each day at Matins in the Armenian Church in a sequence of biblical poetic material which includes canticles from the Old and New Testaments, Psalms 51, 148-150, and 113 (numbering according to the Septuagint). The Armenian version of Psalm 151 is close to the Septuagint, with some variation. Where verse 2 in Greek reads αἱ χεῖρές