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© 1984 Christie’s Images Limited

Frame
Photo: Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers

Verso
Photo: Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers
⊠01.0 Euro Genre
By the summer of 1849, Johnson resolved to go to Europe with his friend George Hall. Although he reputedly was earning a good living with his portrait drawings, figure and genre painting attracted him and first-rate instruction in these fields was not available in the United States. Moreover, both artists realized the importance of studying the European masters at first hand. Hall and Johnson were coaxed into choosing Düsseldorf by the American Art-Union, the most important organ of artistic patronage in America in the 1840s. To raise funds for his travel, Johnson sold two drawings to the AAU and was also assured by Andrew Warner of the AAU that the organization would accept future works by him. Johnson and Hall sailed from New York on August 14, 1849, for Europe. He took classes at the Royal Academy in Düsseldorf, but records of his exact attendance are not known. He felt skilled enough by October 1950 to send two oils to the NAD for sale. In a letter accompanying the shipment he admitted he was sending the pictures “rather earlier in my practice of oils than I should otherwise do.” The two pictures, Peasants on the Rhine and The Junior Partner are long since lost. The majority of his genre paintings were done in the Netherlands, after he moved to the Hague in 1851
[Adapted from Hills, The Genre Painting of Eastman Johnson, pp. 27–32]. —PH
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Hills no. 1.0.3
The Monk and Child
Alternate titles: Een grijsaard, zijne kleindochter Christelijk onderwijs gevende [An old man giving his granddaughter Christian education]; The Attentive Student; The Monk and The Child
c.1851–52
Oil on board
21 x 16 1/4 in. (53.3 x 41.3 cm)
Signed lower left: E. Johnson
Private collection, St. Paul, Minnesota
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Markings
Verso of frame, upper left, on tape: 8; upper left, on tag: Northeast Auctions #1223 [and] P; upper left, on round sticker: CHRISTIE'S/Sale 1205/Lot 8; upper center, on label with Christie's logo: Stock # NW409/Line #6/Dept. AMP; upper right, on sticker: CHRISTIE'S / NW409/6 / AFP; upper right, on sticker, printed in red: 7356-1; upper right, in white chalk: O [overlaid with] X; verso of backing board, upper left, on label: #126/The Attentive/Student/by/Eastman Johnson/1824-1906; upper right on label: R. H. Love Galleries / 645 North Michigan Avenue / Suite 200 /Chicago, IL 160611 [sic] / J-131/16584 / Eastman Johnson / oil on board: 21 x 16 1/2 inches / signed: lower left / THE ATTENTIVE STUDENT
Provenance
Eddy G. Nicholson, Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, by December 1991
Private collection, St. Paul, Minnesota, June 25, 2020 (by purchase)
Exhibitions
Amsterdam, Tentoonstelling van Schilder -en andere Werken van Levende Kunstenaars (Exhibition of Paintings and other Works by Living Artists), 1852, no. 225, as
Een grijsaard, zijne kleindochter Christelijk onderwijs gevende [An old man giving his granddaughter Christian education].
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, 1857, no. 97, as
The Monk and Child.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1994-09-17
Examination notes: Heavy restoration visible to the eye—paint added into the folds, where Johnson usually lets the underpainting stand in for the middle tones, e.g., her sleeve; also crackling, esp. on book.
Record last updated March 30, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "The Monk and Child, c.1851–52 (Hills no. 1.0.3)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=17 (accessed on May 9, 2025).