Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Detail
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Detail
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Detail
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Inscription
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Verso
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Verso sticker
Photo: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
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10.0 Civil War Themes
Johnson was thirty-six years old when the Civil War began. Although he did not serve in the Union Army, he followed the Union troops in search of subjects that would appeal to a pro-Union audience. He also painted pictures of the homefront. —PH
Hills no. 10.0.10
1907 Sale no. 123
A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves—1862
1907 Sale title: A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves, March 2, 1862
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts title: A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves, March 2, 1862
Alternate titles: possibly Fugitive Slaves; possibly Fugitive Slaves, A Ride for Liberty; A Ride for Liberty; The Contraband
c.1862
Locale: Centreville, Virginia
Oil on board
21 3/4 x 26 1/8 in. (55.2 x 66.4 cm)
Signed lower right: E. Johnson
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Description / Remarks
Hills, 2022: Although John I. H. Baur owned and annotated a copy of the catalogue of Johnson's 1907 Estate Sale, he did not include this work in his own 1940 catalogue listing; he must have obtained it after publication.
1907 Estate Sale 
No. 123: "A colored man and woman, with two small children, are mounted on a large horse, which is trotting along a road at its utmost speed in the early dawn. The man, holding in front of him a child of three or four years of age, urges the animal to action, and the mother, clasping her husband around the waist, and holding to her bosom an infant, looks behind her anxiously to see if they are pursued. Through a rift in the clouds on the left of the horse is seen a narrow streak of light. Upon the back of this picture is inscribed the following: 'A veritable incident in the Civil War, seen by myself at Centerville on the morning of McClellan’s advance to Manassas, March 2 [sic], 1862. Eastman Johnson.'”
"Signed at the lower right, E. Johnson.
Height, 22 inches; length, 26 inches."
[Annotation: “105.00 / Louis Ettlinger / Called in letter 'The Contraband.'”]
"Signed at the lower right, E. Johnson.
Height, 22 inches; length, 26 inches."
[Annotation: “105.00 / Louis Ettlinger / Called in letter 'The Contraband.'”]
Markings
Label on verso: A veritable incident/in the civil war seen by/myself at Centerville [sic]/on this morning of/McClellan's advance/towards Manasses [sic] March 23 1862/Eastman Johnson
Verso sticker: 95
Verso sticker: 95
Provenance
Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [possibly, as Fugitive Slaves, A Ride for Liberty].
References
Catalogue of Finished Pictures, Studies, and Drawings by the Late Eastman Johnson, N.A. New York: American Art Association, February 1907. Sale catalogue, n.p., no. 123, as A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves, March 2, 1862.
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1920. Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 13, addendum “Paintings by Eastman Johnson" [possibly, as Fugitive Slaves].
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-07-21
Examination notes: Fits Sale Cat. description. Streak of pink light at left. Father, mother, 2 children. Brown horse. Grey dawn.
Related work
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Keywords
- Subject matter:
Record last updated April 7, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves—1862, c.1862 (Hills no. 10.0.10)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?SystemID=99 (accessed on April 25, 2024).