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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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
Hills no. 18.0.14
Baur no. 118 / 1907 Sale no. 12
The Little Convalescent
c.1872–80
Oil on paperboard
12 3/4 x 11 in. (32.4 x 27.9 cm)
Initialed lower left: E. J.
1907 Estate Sale 
No. 12: "A young boy who, for some slight illness, is kept in bed, holds in his hands a picture book, which he shows with pleasure to his mother who sits beside him. Over the bed, on a shelf of the fireplace, across which is hung a woolen blanket, is a thermometer, various bottles and other objects."
"Signed at the lower left, E. J.
Height, 12 inches; width, 10 ½ inches"
[Annotation: "100.00 W. B. Cogswell"]
"Signed at the lower left, E. J.
Height, 12 inches; width, 10 ½ inches"
[Annotation: "100.00 W. B. Cogswell"]
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. 12 (as The Little Convalescent)]
William Browne Cogswell, Syracuse, New York, husband of the artist's niece, Mary Naomi Johnson Cogswell (daughter of the artist's brother Reuben), February 26, 1907 (by purchase)
Cora Browning Cogswell, his wife, 1921 (by bequest)
Florence Pearl and Elizabeth C. Browning, Syracuse, New York, her sisters, by 1936 (by bequest)
With Norman Hirschl, New York, until 1940
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1940 (by purchase for $500)
Exhibitions
1939 Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906, January 18, 1939–February 26, 1940. (Exhibition catalogue: Baur 1940), no. 118, b/w illus., Pl. XXI, as The Little Convalescent.1972 Whitney Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition, March 28–May 14, 1972. (Exhibition catalogue: Hills 1972a), no. 71, color illus., p. 58, as The Little Convalescent. Traveled to: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, June 7–July 22, 1972; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, August 15–September 30, 1972; Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, October 20–December 3, 1972.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. 12, as The Little Convalescent.American Art News 1907b
"Eastman Johnson Sale." American Art News 5, no. 20 (March 2, 1907), p. 3, as The Little Convalescent.Baur 1940
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), pp. 46, 65, no. 118; Pl. XXI, as The Little Convalescent.Jewell 1940
Jewell, Edward Alden. "Three Phases of Genre: Brooklyn Museum Shows Eastman Johnson—Murals by Olin Dows—Brueghel Prints." New York Times, January 21, 1940, p. 123, illus., as The Little Convalescent.MFA Boston 1969
American Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts. Vols. 1 and 2. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1969.Hills 1972a
Hills, Patricia. Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1972. Exhibition catalogue (1972 Whitney Museum), p. 58, no. 71, as The Little Convalescent.Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-10-27
Examination notes: Woman—brown hair and grey dress with blue tie. Little boy looks over mother's shoulder at spectator. Book is a picture book. Red stripes on cloth at back. Study in grays, browns and whites. Touches of impasto at highlights.
Keywords
- Subject matter:
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. "The Little Convalescent, c.1872–80 (Hills no. 18.0.14)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=234 (accessed on May 4, 2024).