In 1877, and possibly 1878, Johnson visited his sister Harriet May and her family in Kennebunkport, Maine. He found a delightful subject in the games the children played in the barn. For Johnson it was another opportunity to render darkened interiors, from which figures emerge, with sunlight shining through loft doors and playing off the partially illuminated figures and objects in the foreground. It is quite likely that many of the paintings were finished in his New York studio. —PH
American Art Association sale catalogue, 1899: “Two children are seated on a beam in a haymow, dangling their legs and talking to each other. The sun coming in from the top, lights them brilliantly, and makes the background recede into darkness. The straw hat of one has fallen down below, and the little tots are probably discussing the difficulty. One of the faces is turned half away, and is deliciously indicated with infantile grace and beauty. The other little face looks up interestedly. How thoroughly the painter has entered into the spirit of child life, and how he has put himself in sympathy with the children he has limned here, an analysis of this composition will show. It is a veritable masterpiece of character work.”