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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
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26.4 Cranberry—Panoramic Scenes
In June 1869 Johnson married Elizabeth Buckley of Troy, New York, and the following summer he and his wife and their baby, Ethel, went to Nantucket, Massachusetts for the season. Johnson responded enthusiastically to Nantucket, which seemed to be filled with characters and activities that appealed to him, and the couple returned to the island each summer. Beside painting genre scenes of men, women, and children both indoors and outside, Johnson launched a major theme—the cranberry harvest—a time in the fall when the whole community turned out to pick the wild cranberries ripening in the bogs of Nantucket. Johnson made at least eighteen studies before crafting his major painting, The Cranberry Harvest, which was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1880. —PH
Hills no. 26.4.11
The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket
Alternate titles: Cranberry Pickers; Cranberry-Picking; The Cranberry Gatherers; The Cranberry Harvest; The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket; The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket Island
1880
Locale: Nantucket, Massachusetts
Oil on canvas
27 x 55 in. (68.6 x 139.7 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson/1880
Description / Remarks
MacGibeny, 2021: Earlier in its history when this painting was in England, a figure was added immediately to the right of the standing woman. This extra figure was there when Hills saw the painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1970. The figure was removed later, either before or after the painting was sold to the Timken Museum of Art.
John I. H. Baur, in An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906, 1940, mentions this painting as Cranberry Picking in his note to his no. 56 Cranberry Pickers (titled The Cranberry Harvest in this Eastman Johnson catalogue raisonné), but does not include it in his catalogue.
Labels
Label on verso: National Museum 1882
Provenance
Auguste Richard, 1880 until at least 1900
Private collection, Scotland, for two generations
With Bernard Bivall, London, 1969
Peter Tillou, Inc., Litchfield, Connecticut, and Vose Galleries, Boston, by February 25, 1970
The Putnam Foundation, March 18, 1972 (by purchase)
Exhibitions
1880 NAD
National Academy of Design, New York, March 30–May 29, 1880. (NAD 1880), no. 382, as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket.1880c Century Association
Century Association, New York, March 6, 1880, [possibly, as The Cranberry Harvest].1881b Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Loan Collection of Paintings and Sculpture, November 1881–April 1882, no. 10, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket, owner Auguste Richard.1882 United States National Museum
United States National Museum, Washington, D.C., 1882.1882a Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Loan Collection of Paintings and Sculpture, May–October 1882, no. 174, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket, owner Auguste Richard.1890 Union League Club of New York
The Union League Club of New York, New York, Pictures by American Figure Painters, February 13–15, 1890, no. 17, as The Cranberry Harvest, owner Auguste Richard.1893 Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, May 1–October 31, 1893. (World's Columbian Exposition 1893), no. 621, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket Island, lent by Auguste Richard, New York.1900b Union League Club of New York
The Union League Club of New York, New York, Exhibition of Pictures by American Figure Painters and Persian & Indian Works of Art, February 13–15, 1900, no. 17, as The Cranberry Harvest, owner Auguste Richard.1907a Century Association
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [possibly, as The Cranberry Harvest].1972 Whitney Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition, March 28–May 14, 1972. (Exhibition catalogue: Hills 1972a), no. 97, b/w illus., p. 97, as The Cranberry Harvest. Traveled to: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, June 7–July 22, 1972; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, August 15–September 30, 1972; Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, October 20–December 3, 1972.1980 National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., American Light: The Luminist Movement, 1850–1875, February 10–June 15, 1980.1983 MFA Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, A New World: Masterpieces of American Painting, 1760–1910, September 7–November 13, 1983. (Exhibition catalogue: Stebbins 1983), no. 60, color illus., pp. 120–21, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket Island. Traveled to: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., December 7, 1983–February 12, 1984; Grand Palais, Paris, March 16–June 11, 1984.1990 Timken Art Gallery
Timken Art Gallery, San Diego, Eastman Johnson: The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket, April 15–June 24, 1990. (Exhibition catalogue: Simpson, Mills, and Hills 1990), no. 1, color illus., Pl. 1, as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket. Traveled to: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, July 5–September 16, 1990; Yale University Art Museum, New Haven, Connecticut, September 29–December 9, 1990.1999 Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, Eastman Johnson: Painting America, October 29, 1999–February 6, 2000. (Exhibition catalogue: Carbone and Hills 1999), no. 60, color illus., p. 103, as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket. Traveled to: San Diego Museum of Fine Arts, San Diego, February 25–May 21, 2000; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, June 8–September 10, 2000.References
NAD 1880
New York: National Academy of Design, 1880. Exhibition catalogue (1880 NAD), no. 382, as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket.Metropolitan Museum of Art 1881
Loan Collection of Paintings and Sculpture in the West Galleries and the Grand Hall (November, 1881 to April, 1882). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1881. Exhibition catalogue, p. 3, no. 10, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket, owner Auguste Richard.Benjamin 1882
Benjamin, S. G. W. "A Representative American." The Magazine of Art 5 (November 1882), p. 489, reproduced as engraved illustration, as Cranberry-Picking.Metropolitan Museum of Art 1882a
Loan Collection of Paintings and Sculpture, in the West Galleries and the Grand Hall. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1882. Exhibition catalogue, p. 20, no. 174, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket, owner Auguste Richard, New York.Meynell 1886
Meynell, Wilfrid. The Modern School of Art. Vol. 1. London: W. R. Howell & Co., 1886, pp. viii, 225, 227, 228, illus., as Cranberry-Picking.World's Columbian Exposition 1893
World's Columbian Exposition. Revised Catalogue, Department of Fine Arts. Chicago: W. B. Gonkey Company, 1893. Exhibition catalogue (1893 Columbian Exposition), p. 66, no. 954, as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket Island.Hartmann 1908
Hartmann, Sadakichi. "Eastman Johnson: American Genre Painter." The International Studio 34 (April 1908), p. 109, as The Cranberry Gatherers.Hills 1972a
Hills, Patricia. Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1972. Exhibition catalogue (1972 Whitney Museum), p. 97, no. 97, illus., as The Cranberry Harvest.Stebbins 1983
Stebbins, Theodore E. A New World: Masterpieces of American Painting, 1760-1910. Boston, Mass.: Museum of Fine Arts, 1983. Exhibition catalogue (1983 MFA Boston), pp. 120–21, 270–71, no. 60, illus., as The Cranberry Harvest, Nantucket Island.Petersen 1990
Petersen, Nancy Ames. "The Cranberry Harvest at the Timken Art Gallery." In Eastman Johnson: The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket, by Marc Simpson, Sally Mills, and Patricia Hills. San Diego, CA: Timken Art Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, n.p., figs. 3, 4, illus., as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket.Simpson 1990
Simpson, Marc. "Taken with a Cranberry Fit: Eastman Johnson on Nantucket." In Eastman Johnson: The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket, by Marc Simpson, Sally Mills, and Patricia Hills. San Diego, CA: Timken Art Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue.Simpson, Mills, and Hills 1990
Simpson, Marc, Sally Mills, and Patricia Hills. Eastman Johnson: The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket. San Diego, CA: Timken Art Gallery, 1990. Exhibition catalogue (1990 Timken Art Gallery), n.p., figs. 3, 4, Pl. 1, illus.Carbone and Hills 1999
Carbone, Teresa A., and Patricia Hills. Eastman Johnson: Painting America. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum of Art, in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 1999. Exhibition catalogue (1999 Brooklyn Museum), p. 103, no. 60, as The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket.Douglass 1999
Douglass, Julie M. "Lifetime Exhibition History." In Eastman Johnson: Painting America, by Teresa A. Carbone and Patricia Hills. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum of Art, in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 1999. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 262, 263, 264.Simons 2013
Simons, Benjamin. "Eastman Johnson and His Contemporaries on Nantucket." AFAnews.com [Antiques & Fine Art Magazine], January 7, 2013.Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-08-20; 1970-10-27; one other date in 1970; 2019-06-13
Examination notes: 1970-08-20: Standing woman: lavender dress, yellow hat. Figure behind: apple green bonnet; cadmium yellow light dress. Woman in front: red sleeves—know she is smiling. Figure added—right of standing woman's head—pink clouds. Scattering of colors—sketchy grass. Strong lights. Blue to robin's-egg sky. Back of wine red berries at right. Great freshness. Faces: bright pinks vs. umbers. A feeling of shadows in the grass helps give it its freshness. Donkey doesn't look so good. Balance of red, blue, green and yellow.
1970, 2nd examination (possibly 1970-10-27): Flecks of green—flattened out. Bright yellow green, orange, yellow. Sign at left "No pass over this cranberry lot" tree. Blue sky / pink light on [sic]. Colors: Woman in foreground smiling—glow infuses whole face. Red sleeves, black shawl, straw hat and blue tie on it. Beautiful quality of light. Red dress and pink sleeves. Red berries tumbling out L.R. Boy carrying child. Donkey looks fuzzy. Three children at left—young girl looks at boy. Focus on two foreground figures—standing woman, girl on knees at right. Figures in background, beautiful swing to body.
1970, 3rd examination (possibly 1970-10-27): Sign: "No pass over the [sic]/Cranberry Lot." Standing woman: bright spots of light in peach on cheeks, nose, chin and upper and lower lip. Dabs of yellow on dress of woman behind. Very free grass and flowers. Smile on woman in front—also red reflection on face. Pencil lines emerge here and there. See girl with yellow bonnet at right. Horse—unformed—head very thin. Very thin on U.R. Blue sky and puffs of pink clouds. Figures look good—sketchy but solid structure. (Inserted figure looks bad.)
2019-06-13: The Cranberry Harvest is a masterpiece of painting, and looks so much better than when it had (back in 1970) the additional figure of a woman dressed in blue bending over—added by a hand other than Johnson—opposite the sight lines of the dominant standing woman. That figure was removed in between 1970–72. There is a joyousness to the figures’s faces as they move along the bogs picking cranberries.
1970, 2nd examination (possibly 1970-10-27): Flecks of green—flattened out. Bright yellow green, orange, yellow. Sign at left "No pass over this cranberry lot" tree. Blue sky / pink light on [sic]. Colors: Woman in foreground smiling—glow infuses whole face. Red sleeves, black shawl, straw hat and blue tie on it. Beautiful quality of light. Red dress and pink sleeves. Red berries tumbling out L.R. Boy carrying child. Donkey looks fuzzy. Three children at left—young girl looks at boy. Focus on two foreground figures—standing woman, girl on knees at right. Figures in background, beautiful swing to body.
1970, 3rd examination (possibly 1970-10-27): Sign: "No pass over the [sic]/Cranberry Lot." Standing woman: bright spots of light in peach on cheeks, nose, chin and upper and lower lip. Dabs of yellow on dress of woman behind. Very free grass and flowers. Smile on woman in front—also red reflection on face. Pencil lines emerge here and there. See girl with yellow bonnet at right. Horse—unformed—head very thin. Very thin on U.R. Blue sky and puffs of pink clouds. Figures look good—sketchy but solid structure. (Inserted figure looks bad.)
2019-06-13: The Cranberry Harvest is a masterpiece of painting, and looks so much better than when it had (back in 1970) the additional figure of a woman dressed in blue bending over—added by a hand other than Johnson—opposite the sight lines of the dominant standing woman. That figure was removed in between 1970–72. There is a joyousness to the figures’s faces as they move along the bogs picking cranberries.
Keywords
- Subject matter:
Record last updated April 6, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket, 1880 (Hills no. 26.4.11)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?SystemID=422 (accessed on April 25, 2024).