Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: © 2020 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
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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. 10.0.12
Union Soldiers Accepting a Drink
Alternate titles: Soldiers Refreshing Themselves; Union Soldiers
c.1862–65
Oil on canvas
10 3/4 x 15 1/4 in. (27.3 x 38.7 cm)
Neither signed nor dated
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Description/Remarks
Hills, 2021: This painting closely matches the description of Johnson's painting Dinnertime and Appletime in Old Virginia (1907 Sale no. 128), except that the Black woman in the latter seems to be there alone and she is blowing on a dinner horn.
Exhibitions
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, Eastman Johnson: Painting America, October 29, 1999–February 6, 2000. (Exhibition catalogue: Carbone and Hills 1999), no. 75, p. 139, as Union Soldiers Accepting a Drink. 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
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. 139, no. 75, as Union Soldiers Accepting a Drink.
Price, Kenneth M. "Strayed Cattle: Anti-Pastoralism in Whitman’s War Writings." In Whitman in Washington: Becoming the National Poet in the Federal City, by Kenneth M. Price. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 97–99, as Union Soldiers Accepting a Drink.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1990-06-19
Examination notes: Crease along top part. Probably folded back 1/2" at one time. No marks on back. Black woman pouring water (?) from a bottle for two Union soldiers.
Black girl with hat and shawl; averted face typical of EJ.
Rock foundation and boards of house; dried squirrel flattened against wall; paddle on side of house.
Wisteria growing up the side. Light on side seems strange.
Pink bedroll on back of soldier.
Sign over door: CAKE/BEER
Figure in red—excellent; bucket in middle ground.
Rifle: glint of yellow handle; blue highlights—all typical of Johnson.
Ground excellent—velvet waves of green grass; sunflowers behind; baskets on wall.
Brown underpainting for middle tones—typical.
Black girl with hat and shawl; averted face typical of EJ.
Rock foundation and boards of house; dried squirrel flattened against wall; paddle on side of house.
Wisteria growing up the side. Light on side seems strange.
Pink bedroll on back of soldier.
Sign over door: CAKE/BEER
Figure in red—excellent; bucket in middle ground.
Rifle: glint of yellow handle; blue highlights—all typical of Johnson.
Ground excellent—velvet waves of green grass; sunflowers behind; baskets on wall.
Brown underpainting for middle tones—typical.
Related work
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Keywords
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Record last updated July 26, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Union Soldiers Accepting a Drink, c.1862–65 (Hills no. 10.0.12)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=107 (accessed on May 1, 2025).