Johnson often painted interiors without people, no doubt studies from real life. He used such oil studies to provide context for genre scenes. Objects resting on mantles, such as ceramic parrots or earthenware jars, frequently reappear, rearranged in interior genre scenes. —PH
Hills, 2022: Although John I. H. Baur owned and annotated a copy of the catalogue of Johnson's 1907 Estate Sale, he did not include this work in his own 1940 catalogue listing; he must have obtained it after publication.
Hills opinion letter, 2014: "This oil painting shows a rustic interior with a large fireplace and a number of objects on the mantel. To the left is a wooden armchair with a colorful cushion set behind a footstool with an embroidered cushion. To the right of the fireplace a brick wall indicates an oven. In the niche that holds the door is a pot and a brass candlestick. There are no figures in the scene."
MacGibeny, 2021: As described in the article "Eastman Johnson's Lunchtime" by David L. Simon, 2003, "The Vacant Chair" was a popular Civil War song written by George Frederick Root in 1861, invoking a tradition of empty chairs as memorials and more specifically referring to the absence of a soldier lost to war.The lyrics begin:
We shall meet, but we shall miss him
There will be one vacant chair;
We shall linger to caress him
While we breathe our evening prayer.
When a year ago we gathered,
Joy was in his mild blue eye,
But a golden cord is severed,
And our hopes in ruin lie.
The Library of Congress identifies the song as being associated with the Union side. See the linked sheet music by Root from the Library of Congress Civil War Sheet Music Collection.
This painting also represents the setting for the Johnson paintings Grandpa's Pastime, Winding Yarn, Maine Interior—Man with Pipe, and Maine Interior—Man Smoking Pipe.
"Signed at the lower right, E. Johnson.
Height, 14 inches; length, 19 inches."
[Annotation: “45.00”]
- Subject matter: