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

Catalogue Entry

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Photo: Northeast Auctions
Preparing Breakfast, c.1862 (Hills no. 9.4.5). Overall
Overall
Photo: Reproduced by permission
Preparing Breakfast, c.1862 (Hills no. 9.4.5). Frame
Frame
Photo: Reproduced by permission
[ 09.4 Black Groups ]info
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09.4 Black Groups

During the 1860s Johnson painted Black men, women, and children that bestow on them dignity, intelligence, and grace. Many in his family, including his sister Harriet May and her husband Reverend Joseph May were ardent abolitionists. To Johnson, Blacks were not subjects to be ridiculed or satirized.

Note that paintings of Black women and their babies have been placed within the Mother and Child theme. Negro Life at the South and its variations have been placed in a separate category because of its historic significance as Johnson’s chef-d’oeuvre. —PH

View all works in this theme »

Hills no. 9.4.5
Preparing Breakfast
Alternate titles: possibly Before Breakfast; possibly The Early Breakfast
c.1862
Oil on board
9 1/2 x 12 5/8 in. (24.1 x 32.1 cm)
Initialed lower left: E. J.
Washburn and Susan Oberwager
Description/Remarks

Hills, 2021: Although a newspaper account described the figure behind the man as a boy, it is likely a teenage girl or woman who is cooking the breakfast. The composition of this painting is almost exactly like that of Johnson's variation of it, also titled Preparing Breakfast, except that the figures here are Black.

Philadelphia Daily News, "Art Museum Gets Back Stolen Work," April 20, 1993: "…a pastoral scene of an African American man sitting on a box reading a newspaper while a boy behind him cooks breakfast over the ruins of an open hearth."

Philadephia Inquirer, "Artful dealer helps locate pair of stolen oils," April 20, 1993: "The Johnson painting, titled 'Preparing Breakfast' and worth about $75,000, was stolen from a private home on Cape Cod in late 1971, authorities said…[George] Turak, 44, said he recently purchased the Johnson oil for $50,000 through a dealer in New York State, but got his money back after learning the painting was hot." [The painting was recovered around April 1993.]

Provenance
[Possibly Artists' Fund Society, New York, December 23, 1862, no. 11 (as Before Breakfast)]
Wellington Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, by 1866 (as Preparing Breakfast)
Possibly Charles Harvey, Baltimore
[Possibly Somerville Art Gallery, New York, March 31, 1870, Valuable Paintings Partly Belonging to the Estate of the Late Mr. Charles Harvey, of Baltimore, and Sold by the Order of the Executors, Mr. W. T. Walters, and Mr. B. F. Newcomer, no. 31 (as The Early Breakfast)]
Possibly Daniel Huntington, March 31, 1870 (by purchase)
[Possibly Geo. A. Leavitt & Co., New York, February 7, 1872, Important and Choice Modern Paintings by Eminent American & Foreign Artists, lot 81 (as Preparing Breakfast)]
Private collection, by 1935
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, by December 31, 1951—March 27, 1958 (as Preparing Breakfast)
V. H. Shea, New York, March 27, 1958 (by purchase)
Madeline Whitney Shea, Chatham, Massachusetts, by 1971 (stolen from home, 1971)
Unidentified dealer, New York (during period when painting was stolen)
George Turak, dealer, Philadelphia, c. 1993 (during period when painting was stolen)
[Northeast Auctions, Manchester, New Hampshire, March 4, 2001, lot 1029, Estate of Madeline Whitney Shea]
Washburn and Susan Oberwager, March 4, 2001
Exhibitions
1862 Artists' Fund Society
Artists' Fund Society, Gallery of the Fine Art Institute, New York, December 23, 1862, no. 11, [possibly, as Before Breakfast, likely owner Eastman Johnson].
1866 Wellington Gallery
Wellington Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, 1866, no. 71, as Preparing Breakfast.
1938 Macbeth Gallery
Macbeth Gallery, New York, American Paintings, November 1–30, 1938, no. 18.
1939 Macbeth Gallery
Macbeth Gallery, New York, Americana, November 1–30, 1939. (Macbeth Gallery 1939); (Macbeth Gallery 1976), no. 16, [possibly, as Getting Breakfast].
1942 John Levy Galleries
John Levy Galleries, New York, Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, April 8–30, 1942. (John Levy Galleries 1942), no. 4, as Preparing Breakfast.
1946 M. Knoedler & Co.
M. Knoedler & Co, New York, Paintings and Drawings by Eastman Johnson, January 7–26, 1946. (Exhibition catalogue: M. Knoedler & Co. 1946). Traveled to: The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, March 1946 (California Palace 1946).
1953 Des Moines Art Center
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, The Farm in Art, August 16–September 20, 1953.
References
New-York Daily Tribune 1862
"City Items: Sale of Pictures." New-York Daily Tribune, December 25, 1862, p. 8 [possibly, as Before Breakfast].
Somerville Art Gallery 1870
Catalogue of Valuable Paintings Partly Belonging to the Estate of the Late Mr. Charles Harvey, of Baltimore, and Sold by the Order of the Executors, Mr. W. T. Walters, and Mr. B. F. Newcomer. New York: Somerville Art Gallery, March 31, 1870. Sale catalogue, p. 7, no. 31 [possibly, as The Early Breakfast].
George A. Leavitt & Co. 1872
Catalogue of Important and Choice Modern Paintings by Eminent American & Foreign Artists. New York: George A. Leavitt & Co., February 7–8, 1872. Sale catalogue, p. 22 [possibly, as Preparing Breakfast], Handwritten annotation: "Man reading paper, Hay stack/woman kneeling by fire".
Wheeler 1918
Wheeler, Candace. Yesterdays in a Busy Life. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1918, pp. 112–13, describes Johnson painting this picture.
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. 60.
Antiques 1958
Knoedler Gallery advertisement. Antiques (New York) 73, no. 3 (March 1958), p. 223, Knoedler Gallery advertisement.
Slobodzian 1993
Slobodzian, Joseph A. "Art Museum Gets Back Stolen Work." Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 1993.
Smith 1993
Smith, Jim. "Artful Dealer Helps Locate Pair of Stolen Oils." Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 1993, p. 13, as Preparing Breakfast.
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, p. 260 [possibly, as Before Breakfast].
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1985-11-30
Examination notes: 1985-11-30: Osher on consignment to Childs Gallery: 9 5/8 x 12 3/4. Apples—bright red. Andirons—highlights on brass. Red glow of fire. 2 highlights on hoe. Grainy surface: like sand on a board. Softness of trees. Features of man disappear. Hands—bluish blush on hands. Grey skirt of kneeling woman almost disappears. Brown—sienna underpainting. Haystack—soft. Greens good. Yellow green and dark green. Recedes well—carries at a distance.
Hills opinion letter: December 13, 1985 view »
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Record last updated June 2, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Preparing Breakfast, c.1862 (Hills no. 9.4.5)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=101 (accessed on May 2, 2025).