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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Catalogue Entry
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Photo: Vose Galleries Archives
Overall
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Verso
Photo: Patricia Hills
⊠
18.0 Mother and Child
The mother and child theme in art not only has references to Christian art but also to the realities of caregiving by women. Johnson seems to have been particularly drawn to the theme as the result of his wife’s caring for their daughter, Ethel. —PH
Hills no. 18.0.6
The Cradle Song
Alternate title: possibly The Cradle Song (Interior)
c.1866
Oil on board
20 x 25 in. (50.8 x 63.5 cm)
Initialed lower right, large and florid: E.J.
Private collection
Description / Remarks
Hills, 2021: The quotation from William Sydney Mount, cited in my 2007 opinion letter, refers to Comfort in Weariness specifically, but would apply to this painting as well.
Hills opinion letter, 2007: "This rustic interior scene represents a woman, in a dark dress, bending over a wooden cradle that has been placed near a hearth."
Markings
Inscribed on verso, upper right, in pencil: #34782/20 x 25
Labels
Label on verso: JOHNSON (Eastman), N.A. Deceased/The Cradle Song (20 x 25)
Label on verso: VOSE/GALLERIES OF BOSTON/ESTABLISHED 1841/238 NEWBURY STREET - BOSTON - MASSACHUSETTS 02116/35121/Eastman Johnson (1824-1906)/The Cradle Song/Oil on academy board/20 x 25 inches/Initialed Lower Right/Circa 1866
Label on verso: $32,500
Label on verso: VOSE/GALLERIES OF BOSTON/ESTABLISHED 1841/238 NEWBURY STREET - BOSTON - MASSACHUSETTS 02116/35121/Eastman Johnson (1824-1906)/The Cradle Song/Oil on academy board/20 x 25 inches/Initialed Lower Right/Circa 1866
Label on verso: $32,500
Provenance
[Keeler Art Galleries, New York, April 6, 1916, Valuable Oil Paintings and Water Colors in Part from the Estate of Mr. John Henry Harrison and Mr. George W. Seymour of Methuen, Mass., no. 49 (as The Cradle Song)]
Private collection, by March 2007
References
Keeler Art Galleries 1916c
Catalogue of Valuable Oil Paintings and Water Colors in Part from the Estate of Mr. John Henry Harrison and Mr. George W. Seymour of Methuen, Mass. New York: Keeler Art Galleries, April 6–7, 1916. Sale catalogue, n.p., no. 49, as The Cradle Song.Kennedy Galleries 1920
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Charcoal Drawings by Eastman Johnson. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1920. Exhibition catalogue (1920 Kennedy Galleries), p. 12, addendum “Paintings by Eastman Johnson" [possibly, as The Cradle Song (Interior)].Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 2007-05-23; 2019-03-28
Examination notes: 2007-05-23: Pencil (graphite) along cradle's edges and folds of white blanket. Little pink hands. Background—hastily covered. Hills didn't see graphite on the woman's dress. Woman's eye socket/lid, maybe. Bright red in fireplace. Some lines between arm and sleeve. None of the detail of the other NAD work. Can see lines on floor boards, but very blurry (not definite). No objects on mantel.
2019-03-28: Very dark and very smooth application of paint. UR quarter is very bare. Few broad strokes. Pictures on wall; fire on left. Folds in skirt—delicately done. Cradle has a hood; don’t see baby’s face, but see baby’s arm.
2019-03-28: Very dark and very smooth application of paint. UR quarter is very bare. Few broad strokes. Pictures on wall; fire on left. Folds in skirt—delicately done. Cradle has a hood; don’t see baby’s face, but see baby’s arm.
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Keywords
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Record last updated July 25, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "The Cradle Song, c.1866 (Hills no. 18.0.6)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=228 (accessed on May 5, 2024).