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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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Photo: Glenn Castellano/New-York Historical Society
08.0 Negro Life at the South, 1859

Although Johnson had exhibited works sent from Europe at the National Academy of Design in the early 1850s, it was his Negro Life at the South that established his reputation as the leading genre painter and assured his election as an Associate Academician, an honor that was invaluable in securing an artist’s fortune. To midcentury white America, the general dilapidation of the slave quarters was picturesque, and the small anecdotal touches were delightful. Today we may be ambivalent in our approach to Negro Life, or at least troubled by the simplistic view of Blacks in stereotypical activities: playing banjoes, shuffling to music, courting idly, and fondling children. However, more issues come to light upon close examination of the painting: What is the purpose/effect of the white woman stepping through the door at the right; what is the effect of the Black woman leaning out the window holding her baby; what about the individualistic renderings of the Black adults? Such questions need to be explored [See Hills 1974; Davis 1991; Hills 1999]. 

This painting and its variations have been placed in a separate category from Black Groups because of its historic significance as Johnson’s chef-d’oeuvre. —PH

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Hills no. 8.0.2
Baur no. 34
Negro Life at the South
Alternate titles: possibly Kentucky Home (Negro Life at the South); possibly Old Virginia Home [Negro Life at the South]; Life in the South; Negro Life in the South (Old Kentucky Home); Old Kentucky Home; Old Kentucky Home, Life in the South; Scene Champetre au Kentucky; The Old Kentucky Home
1859
Oil on linen
36 x 45 1/4 in. (91.4 x 114.9 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson/1859
Description / Remarks

Hills, 2021: The most extensive discussions of this painting can be found in John Davis, "Eastman Johnson's Negro Life at the South and Urban Slavery in Washington, D.C." (1998) and Patricia Hills, "Painting Race: Eastman Johnson's Pictures of Slaves, Ex-Slaves, and Freedmen" (1999). See Bibliography for more information.

Note the uncertainty regarding the exhibition of the painting at the National Academy of Design, April 13–June 25, 1859, and at the Boston Athenaeum in April 1859. It is questionable whether the same painting could have participated in both events given the close timing.

Many comments from contemporary art writers relay to us today the then-contemporary view of attitudes by whites toward pictures dealing with race in the mid-nineteenth century. During the Civil War white perceptions of Black life were exceedingly varied and resist generalizations. 

Henry Tuckerman, Book of the Artists, 1867: “In his delineation of the negro, Eastman Johnson has achieved a peculiar fame. One may find in his best pictures of this class a better insight into the normal character of that unfortunate race than ethnological discussion often yields. The affection, the humor, the patience and serenity which redeem from brutality and ferocity the civilized though subjugated African, are made to appear in the creations of this artist with singular authenticity.”  [Quoted Hills 1999, p. 121]

Anonymous, Harper’s Weekly, May 4, 1867: The critic commented on the new role for writers in showing the emotions of slaves: “Mrs. Stowe broke the spell in literature. Eastman Johnson broke it in art.” [Quoted Hills 1977, p. 64, and Hills 1999, p. 161, note 36]

Anonymous, New-York Daily Tribune, May 21, 1859:  “In the Life at the South there is a story within a story: first, that of slave-life, as telling as a chapter from ‘Slavery As It Is,’ or a stirring speech from the Anti-Slavery platform, the negro quarters teeming with life, human and animal:  the old building, moss-covered, neglected, ruinous, and desolate, contrasted with the well-built and carefully kept dwelling just seen beyond it; the indolent servants enjoying to the full their only solace—music; the mistress, refined and elegant, just looking in  upon what clearly, for that fact, is not a daily scene, with her maid behind her, better fed, better clothes, much more of a woman, much less of a slave in her outward life, than her fellow servants, all presenting a sad picture of Southern Slavery, when viewed from one stand point. 

“On the other side is the careless happiness of simple people, intent only upon the enjoyment of the present moment, forgetful, perhaps ignorant, of degradation, and thoughtless of how soon may come the rupture of all those natural ties in which lie the only happiness that life can give them; the delighted mother and her dancing child; the old man, wrapped up in the sweet sounds of his own creation; the little boy, with his neglected plaything, entranced by the true negro love of melody; the children wondering at the sight of ‘Missis’ in the negro-yard; the young lovers, their very attitudes instinct with the fine sentiment which belongs alone to no condition, but is common to every human creature; and even the little dog which lends his hilarious bark to the general fund. “ [Quoted Hills, 1999, p. 127]

Anonymous, The Crayon, June 1859: “One of the best pictures in respect to Art and the most popular, because presenting familiar aspects of life, is E. Johnson’s ‘Negro Life at the South.’ . . . Although a very humble subject, this picture is a very instructive one in relation to Art.  It is conscientiously studies and painting, and full of ideas. . . . The picture of ‘Negro Life at the South’ . . . is a kind of Art that will be always popular so long as lowly life exists to excite and to reveal the play of human sympathy. But ‘Negro Life at the South’ is not ‘high Art,’ for the reason that the most beautiful thoughts and emotions capable of Art representation, are not embodied in the most beautiful forms, and in the noblest combinations.”  [Quoted Hills, 1999, p. 128]

Leeds & Miner sale catalogue, 1867: "A faithful and charming picture of domestic life in the 'South,' one which will be feelingly recognized by many, and yearly increase in historic value as time speeds us onward from the 'days gone by.' This is the artist's masterpiece."

Provenance
John Frederick Kensett, April 14, 1859
William P. Wright, New York, by 1860
[Henry H. Leeds & Miner, New York, March 18, 1867, Valuable Collection of Oil Paintings, Formerly the Collection of W. P. Wright, Esq., of New Jersey, no. 141 (as Old Kentucky Home)]
Robert Leighton Stuart, New York, March 18, 1867 (by purchase)
Mrs. Mary Stuart, his widow
New York Public Library, New York, R. L. Stuart Collection, 1887 (by bequest)
New-York Historical Society, New York (on permanent loan)
Exhibitions
1859 Boston Athenaeum
Boston Athenaeum, Boston, April 1859, no. 191, [possibly, as Negro Life at the South].
1859 NAD
National Academy of Design, New York, April 13–June 25, 1859. (NAD 1859), no. 321, as Negro Life at the South.
1860 Young Men's Association, Troy
Young Men's Association, Troy, New York, 1860, no. 125, as Old Kentucky Home.
1863 Weehawken Gallery
Weehawken Gallery, Weehawken, New Jersey, 1863, no. 87, [possibly, as Old Virginia Home].
1864a U.S. Sanitary Commission
U.S. Sanitary Commission, Brooklyn, New York, Art Exhibition of the Brooklyn and Long Island Fair in aid of the United States Sanitary Commission, February 22, 1864, no. 2, [possibly, as Kentucky Home, owner Eastman Johnson].
1867 Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle, Paris, April 1–November 3, 1867. (Exhibition catalogue: Exposition Universelle 1867), no. 46, as Scene Champetre au Kentucky.
1867b NAD
National Academy of Design, New York, First Winter Exhibition, November 16, 1867–March 11, 1868. (Exhibition catalogue: NAD 1867b), no. 644, shown in a special section of works exhibited in the Paris Universal Exposition.
1874 Yale School of Fine Arts
Yale School of Fine Arts, New Haven, Connecticut, 1874, no. 59, as The Old Kentucky Home.
1876 United States Centennial Commission
United States Centennial Commission, Philadelphia, Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, May 10–November 1876, no. 118, as The Old Kentucky Home, owner R. L. Stuart.
1892 Lenox Library
Lenox Library [later New York Public Library], New York, [On long-term loan], 1892–1944.
1939 Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906, January 18, 1939–February 26, 1940. (Exhibition catalogue: Baur 1940), no. 34, b/w illus., Pl. 3, as Old Kentucky Home, Life in the South.
1939 Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Life in America: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings Held during the Period of the New York World's Fair, April 24–October 29, 1939, no. 175, as Old Kentucky Home, lent by The New York Public Library.
1940 Carnegie Institute
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Survey of American Painting, October 24–December 15, 1940.
1961 Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts
Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, Wilmington, Delaware, American Paintings 1857-1869, December 19, 1961–February 26, 1962.
1972 Whitney Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition, March 28–May 14, 1972. (Exhibition catalogue: Hills 1972a), no. 23, b/w illus., p. 30, as Life in the South, did not travel. 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.
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. 67, p. 120, as Negro Life at the South. 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 1859
Catalogue of the Thirty-Fourth Exhibition. New York: National Academy of Design, 1859. Exhibition catalogue (1859 NAD), p. 27, no. 321, as Negro Life at the South, owner Eastman Johnson.
New-York Daily Tribune 1859
"The National Academy Exhibition." New-York Daily Tribune, May 21, 1859, p. 6, as Negro Life at the South.
The Crayon 1859b
"National Academy of Design; Second Notice." The Crayon (New York) 6, part 6 (June 1859), p. 191, as Negro Life at the South.
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 1860
"Editor’s Easy Chair." Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 21, no. 121 (June 1860), p. 269 [possibly].
Brooklyn and Long Island Fair 1864
Brooklyn and Long Island Fair in Aid of the United States Sanitary Commission. History of the Brooklyn and Long Island Fair, February 22, 1864. "The Union," Steam Presses, 1864, p. 56, no. 2 [possibly, as Kentucky Home].
Exposition Universelle 1867
Catalogue Générale—Première Partie. Paris: Exposition Universelle, 1867. Exhibition catalogue (1867 Exposition Universelle), no. 46, as Scene Champetre au Kentucky.
Harper's Weekly 1867
"American Artists." Harper's Weekly 11, no. 540 (May 4, 1867), p. 274, as The Old Kentucky Home.
Tuckerman 1867
Tuckerman, Henry T. Book of the American Artists: American Artist Life. New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1867, pp. 468, 470, as The Old Kentucky Home.
Henry H. Leeds & Miner 1867b
Catalogue of the Valuable Collection of Oil Paintings Formerly the Private Collection of W. P. Wright. New York: Henry H. Leeds & Miner, March 18, 1867. Sale catalogue, p. 19, no. 141: "A faithful and charming picture of domestic life in the 'South,' one which will be feelingly recognized by many, and yearly increase in historic value as time speeds us onward from the 'days gone by.' This is the artist's masterpiece," as Old Kentucky Home.
NAD 1867b
Catalogue of the First Winter Exhibition. New York: National Academy of Design, 1867. Exhibition catalogue (1867b NAD), no. 644, as Old Kentucky Home, owner H. W. Derby.
Centennial Exhibition 1876
Official Catalogue of the International Exhibition of 1876. Part II: Art Gallery, Annexes, and Outdoor Works of Art. Department IV: Art. Cambridge, MA: John R. Nagle & Company, 1876. Exhibition catalogue, p. 20, no. 118, as The Old Kentucky Home, owner R. L. Stuart.
King 1895
King, Edward. "The Value of Nationalism in Art." The Monthly Illustrator 4, no. 14 (June 1895), p. 267.
Fowler 1906
Fowler, Frank. "Eastman Johnson—His Life and Works." Scribner's Magazine 40, no. 2 (August 1906), p. 256, as The Old Kentucky Home.
Low 1906
Low, Will. "Eastman Johnson—His Life and Works." Scribner's Magazine 40, no. 2 (August 1906), p. 254, as Old Kentucky Home.
Hartmann 1908
Hartmann, Sadakichi. "Eastman Johnson: American Genre Painter." The International Studio 34 (April 1908), p. 111.
New York Public Library 1911
Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations: Catalogue of Paintings in the Picture Galleries. New York: New York Public Library, 1911, p. 34, no. 225.
Life 1931
Life 5, no. 18 (October 1931).
Whitney Museum 1935
American Genre: The Social Scene in Paintings and Prints (1800–1935). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1935. Exhibition catalogue (1935 Whitney Museum), p. 19, no. 63.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1939
Life in America: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings Held during the Period of the New York World's Fair. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1939, p. 130, no. 175, illus.
Baur 1940
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), p. 61, no. 34, as Old Kentucky Home, Life in the South.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1967
American Paintings & Historical Prints from the Middendorf Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967, p. 42.
Ames 1969/1970
Ames, Kenneth. "Eastman Johnson: The Failure of a Successful Artist." Art Journal 29, no. 2 (Winter 1969/1970), pp. 174–83, illus. p. 174.
Hills 1972a
Hills, Patricia. Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1972. Exhibition catalogue (1972 Whitney Museum), no. 23, p. 30, illus., as Life in the South.
Hills 1974
Hills, Patricia. The Painters' America: Rural and Urban Life, 1810–1910. New York: Praeger, 1974. Exhibition catalogue (1974 Whitney Museum), p. 62, fig. 73, illus., as Negro Life in the South (Old Kentucky Home).
Davis 1998
Davis, John. "Eastman Johnson's Negro Life at the South and Urban Slavery in Washington, D.C." The Art Bulletin 80, no. 1 (1998).
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. 120, no. 67, illus.
Hills 1999b
Hills, Patricia. "Painting Race: Eastman Johnson's Pictures of Slaves, Ex-Slaves, and Freedmen." 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.
Pennington 2008
Pennington, Estill Curtis. Kentucky: The Master Painters from the Frontier Era to the Great Depression. Paris, KY: Cane Ridge Publishing House, 2008, pp. 67–68, illus. p. 68.
Gallati 2011
Gallati, Barbara Dayer. "Negro Life in the South." In Making American Taste: Narrative Art for a New Democracy, edited by Barbara Dayer Gallati. New York and London: The New-York Historical Society, in association with D. Giles Ltd, 2011. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 233–235.
MacGibeny 2021
MacGibeny, Abigael. "Eastman Johnson, 'America’s Rembrandt,' Was Nurtured by His Experience in Europe." the low countries (Belgium and The Netherlands), November 16, 2021, illus., as Negro Life at the South.
Stewart 2022
Stewart, Jeffrey C. "Eastman Johnson's Negro Life at the South." Perspectives on Eastman Johnson, National Academy of Design (New York), January 19, 2022, as Negro Life at the South.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-05
Related work
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Keywords
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Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C., LC-DIG-ppmsca-08346 (digital file from original print)
Oh Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny. [lithograph published by publisher Robertson, Seibert & Shearman]
c.1859
Color lithograph used for tobacco package label
13 11/16 x 17 1/4 in. (34.8 x 43.8 cm)
Printed, above and below image: OH CARRY ME BACK/TO OLE VIRGINNY.; immediately below image: LITH. & PRINTED IN COLORS BY ROBERTSON, SEIBERT & SHEARMAN, 93 FULTON ST. NEW YORK.; below plate: Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1859, by G.W.Hillman & Co. in the Clerks Office, of the District Court, for the Southern District of New York.
See image for descriptive inscription on mount.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (93510468/PP)
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Photo: Courtesy of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta
The Old Kentucky Home [chromolithograph by Bencke & Scott; published by Chas. C. Lucas & Co.]
1876
Chromolithograph on paper
17 3/4 x 23 7/8 in. (45.1 x 60.6 cm)
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Purchase with funds from the American Art Collectors (2006.8)

Also owned by: New-York Historical Society, New York (PR.068.11)

See all Prints after Works by Johnson.

Record last updated May 10, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Negro Life at the South, 1859 (Hills no. 8.0.2)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?SystemID=74 (accessed on March 28, 2024).