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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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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

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Hills no. 18.0.16
1907 Sale no. 137
Mother and Child
c.1872–80
Oil
30 x 19 in. (76.2 x 48.3 cm)
Signed lower right: E. Johnson
Description / Remarks

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.

1907 Estate Sale info
No. 137: "A loving mother, seated on a low divan or sofa, clasps to her bosom a little girl who stands beside her, at the same time gazing affectionately at the child's face. The mother is evidently telling her a story, perhaps from Hawthorne's 'Wonder Book.' The child stands somewhat shyly, rubbing one foot against the other, and resting her left hand on her mother's knee."
"Signed at the lower right, E. Johnson.
Height, 30 inches; width, 19 inches."
[Annotation: “70.00”]
Provenance
Eastman Johnson estate/Mrs. Eastman Johnson, New York, 1906 (by bequest)
[The artist's estate sale, American Art Association, New York, February 26–27, 1907, no. 137 (as Mother and Child)]
Present whereabouts unknown
References
AAA 1907b
Catalogue of Finished Pictures, Studies, and Drawings by the Late Eastman Johnson, N.A. New York: American Art Association, February 1907. Sale catalogue, n.p., no. 137, as Mother and Child.
Keywords
Record last updated April 7, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Mother and Child, c.1872–80 (Hills no. 18.0.16)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=233 (accessed on May 5, 2024).