Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Courtesy of Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc.
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20.1 Boys Indoors
Young boys have been a traditional staples of genre painting. To patrons of art during the mid-nineteenth century these youths recalled memories of their own growing years in which innocence was becoming more and more modified by mischievous cunning. —PH
Hills no. 20.1.17
Sulky Boy
Alternate titles: possibly Boy in a Corner; possibly The Sulky Boy; In the Sulks; Sulks; Sulky; The Fireplace (Sulki)
1869
Oil on artist's board
19 1/4 x 13 in. (48.9 x 33 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson/1869
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Provenance
Private collection, 1969 (by purchase)
Private collection, 1973 (by purchase)
Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, January 10, 1870, [possibly, as Boy in a Corner].
The Union League Club of New York, New York, February 17, 1870, as Sulky Boy, owner Dr. F. Otis.
National Academy of Design, New York, April 15–June 7, 1873. (Exhibition catalogue: NAD 1873), no. 203, [possibly, as The Sulky Boy].
National Academy of Design and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The New York Centennial Loan Exhibition, June 23–November 10, 1876, no. 278, as Sulks, From the Collections of Dr. F. N. Otis.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, Faces and Places: Changing Images of Nineteenth-Century America, December 5, 1972–January 6, 1973, no. 53, (illus.), as The Fireplace (Sulki).
References
New York: National Academy of Design, 1873. Exhibition catalogue (1873b NAD), no. 203 [possibly, as The Sulky Boy].
"Art: Annual Exhibition of N. A. of Design." The Aldine 6 (June 1873), p. 127 [possibly: "The South Room detains us longest. It contains the best figure pieces in the Exhibition, which are Eastman Johnson's 'Sulky Boy,' and 'Catching the Bee,' and 'The Yankee Pedlar,' by T. W. Wood…," as Sulky Boy].
Catalogue of the Private Collection of Modern Paintings and Bronzes Belonging to Dr. F. N. Otis, of This City. New York: Ortgies & Co., December 4–5, 1890. Sale catalogue, p. 30, no. 117, as In the Sulks, 12 x 20.
Hirschl & Adler Galleries. Faces and Places: Changing Images of 19th Century America. New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 1972, n.p., no. 53 illus.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-07-14
Examination notes: Outline of figure in hard lines. Salmon red shirt and socks. Brown pants. Turquoise, red, and aqua and white striped rug. Turquoise runs around door and baseboard. Fire at left. Too cute. Could this have been done in Murray Bay?
A study for this is Boston MFA titled “Dutch Boy.” See letter of Oct 4, 1992. Photo from Wildenstein.
A study for this is Boston MFA titled “Dutch Boy.” See letter of Oct 4, 1992. Photo from Wildenstein.
Related work
Record last updated September 17, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Sulky Boy, 1869 (Hills no. 20.1.17)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=243 (accessed on April 24, 2024).