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Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2020
⊠13.3 Maine Rustic/Farm, 1860s—Outdoors
In the nineteenth century, attitudes towards work changed, especially in the northern states of America. Although some artists made fun of “country bumpkins,” in general, farm work and farmers began to take on greater prestige and admiration. During the 1860s, Johnson returned to his birthplace in Maine to make studies of maple sugar production and also to seek out subjects of a rural life far removed from slavery. Barn interiors and home interiors show the families of farmers husking corn, winnowing grain, of taking a smoke. Exteriors show farmers at harvest time, loggers cutting trees or simply relaxing. In choosing scenes of rural white America Johnson was following in the tradition of Francis William Edmonds, George H. Durrie, Tompkins H. Matteson, and William Sidney Mount—a tradition popularized by the prints of Currier and Ives. —PH
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Hills no. 13.3.2
Hard Cider
Alternate titles: "Hard Cider"; Drinking Hard Cider; Drinking the Cider
c.1860–67
Oil on board
13 x 6 3/4 in. (33 x 17.1 cm)
Signed lower right: E. Johnson
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Provenance
[Henry H. Leeds & Miner, New York, February 4, 1867, The Private Collection of Oil Paintings by American Artists, made by Samuel P. Avery, During the past 15 years, and now to be sold, On account of his going to Europe, no. 47, as "Hard Cider"]
References
Tuckerman, Henry T. Book of the American Artists: American Artist Life. New York:
G. P. Putnam & Son,
1867, p. 626, as
Hard Cider.
Catalogue of the Private Collection of Oil Paintings, by American Artists, Made by Samuel P. Avery During the Past 15 Years, and Now to be Sold, On Account of His Going to Europe. New York:
Henry H. Leeds & Miner,
February 4, 1867.
Sale catalogue, p. 5, no. 47
.
Catalogue of Valuable Modern Paintings which Includes the Collection of John Forsythe, Esq. New York:
Clarke's Art Rooms,
1913.
Sale catalogue, no. 109, as
Hard Cider.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971?
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. "Hard Cider, c.1860–67 (Hills no. 13.3.2)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=150 (accessed on March 28, 2024).