Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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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. 10.0.13
Baur no. 149
Writing His Lesson
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston title: Writing to Father
Alternate titles: A Letter to Father; The First Letter; The Young Letter Writer; Young Letter Writer
1863
Oil on composition board
12 x 9 1/4 in. (30.5 x 23.5 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson./-63
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Markings
Verso: Y. L. W. by Eastman Johnson
Provenance
Exhibitions
Great Central Fair for the Benefit of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Philadelphia, June 1864. (Great Central Fair 1864), no. 178, as Writing His Lesson, owner Robt. Olyphant, New York.
Artists' Fund Society, Barker & Theall's Gallery, New York, 1869, as A Letter to Father.
Young Women's Christian Association, New York, May 1876, no. 86, as The Young Letter Writer, owner R. M. Olyphant.
National Academy of Design and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The New York Centennial Loan Exhibition, June 23–November 10, 1876, no. 245, as Young Letter Writer, owner R. M. Olyphant.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Civil War: The Artists' Record, November 17–December 31, 1961. (Williams 1961), no. 209, as Writing to Father. Traveled to: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, February 1–March 4, 1962.
References
Paintings, Drawings, Statuary in the Great Central Fair. Philadelphia: Great Central Fair, 1864. Exhibition catalogue (1864 Great Central Fair for the Benefit of the U.S. Sanitary Commission), p. 178, as Writing His Lesson.
Tuckerman, Henry T. Book of the American Artists: American Artist Life. New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1867, pp. 470, 625, as Young Letter Writer.
"Sale of Pictures for the Benefit of the Artists' Fund Society." New York Times, December 22, 1869, p. 5: "Among the highest-priced pictures were the following: "Boy of Venice," by GIFFORD, $310; "A Letter to Father," by E. JOHNSON, $530…," as A Letter to Father.
Somerville Art Gallery. Catalogue of Robert M. Olyphant's Collection of Paintings by American Artists. New York: Somerville Art Gallery, 1877. Sale catalogue, p. 27, no. 140, as The First Letter, 9 x 11 1/2.
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. 66, no. 149, as Young Letter Writer.
Williams, Hermann Warner. The Civil War: The Artists' Record. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1961. Exhibition catalogue (1961 Corcoran Gallery of Art), checklist, no. 209.
American Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts. Vols. 1 and 2. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1969.
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Keywords
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Record last updated September 10, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Writing His Lesson, 1863 (Hills no. 10.0.13)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=108 (accessed on April 25, 2024).