Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné

Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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Conservation photograph, Conservation Department, Brooklyn Museum

Overall

Photo: Abigael MacGibeny

Verso

Photo: Abigael MacGibeny

Verso detail

Photo: Abigael MacGibeny

[ 10.0 Civil War Themes ]

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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

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Hills no. 10.0.17r

Study for "The Wounded Drummer Boy"

Alternate titles: possibly The Drummer Boy; possibly The Wounded Drummer Boy

c.1864–71

Oil on laminated paperboard

21 7/16 x 16 3/4 in. (54.5 x 42.5 cm)

Initialed lower right: E. J.

Brooklyn Museum, New York, Dick S. Ramsay Fund (59.9)

Verso: Sketch of Soldier [verso of Study for "The Wounded Drummer Boy"], c.1864–71 (Hills no. 39.1.10v)

Description / Remarks

Brooklyn Museum website, accessed July 2, 2021: "Eastman Johnson drew his inspiration for this Civil War picture from an incident that reportedly occurred during the Battle of Antietam (1862) in which an injured drummer boy asked a comrade to carry him so that he could continue drumming his unit forward. The emblematic image of a heroic youth literally rising above the chaos of the battlefield resonated deeply with Northern audiences both during and after the war. Johnson’s initial drawing of the subject was exhibited in 1864 to foster support for the army, and the finished painting of 1871—for which this work is a preparatory study—helped to commemorate the hope and sacrifice of the Union effort. In this study, the loose brushwork, bright highlights, and lack of detail powerfully evoke the experience of battle—the steady drum beat, the smoke-filled air, and the drama of life and death."

Markings

Verso, lower left quadrant, sideways to markings: sketch of soldier

Markings on verso: upper left: 4705[?]/47055; upper center-right: CA3639/A4856; upper right, in orange: 59.9; center left, between arrows: 10 3/4

Labels

Label on verso, top left: 5.16.50 A1/Richardson

Provenance

Mrs. E. P. Richardson, by 1958

M. Knoedler & Co., New York, until January 8, 1959

Brooklyn Museum, New York, January 8, 1959 (by purchase)

Exhibitions

1872b Century Association

Century Association, New York, February 3, 1872, no. 27, [possibly, as The Drummer Boy.

1907a Century Association

Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [possibly, as The Wounded Drummer Boy.

n.d. Baltimore Museum

Baltimore Museum, Baltimore, dates unknown, no. 3275-5.

References

Johnson, Eastman 1864a

Eastman Johnson letter to E. D. Palmer, January 4, 1864. Albany Institute of History & Art Library, Eastman Johnson artist file, "The Drummer Boy I have not yet painted nor begun, but am making the drawing for it larger…"

Brooklyn Museum 1979

American Paintings: A complete Illustrated Listing of Works in the Museum's Collection. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, 1979, p. 71.

Hills Examination / Opinion

Examination date(s): 1970-09-03; 2019-09-17

Examination notes: 1970: No rifle. Green hill. Band of dusty brown grey. Robin's-egg blue sky. Sense of defeat is strong, but subtle.

Keywords

Subject matter:
- Civil War »

Record last updated July 28, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.

Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Study for "The Wounded Drummer Boy", c.1864–71 (Hills no. 10.0.17r)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=112 (accessed on May 3, 2024).