Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager
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Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2021
The Voice of the Harp, 1872 (Hills no. 21.1.10). Overall
Overall
Photo: Patricia Hills
The Voice of the Harp, 1872 (Hills no. 21.1.10). Detail
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
The Voice of the Harp, 1872 (Hills no. 21.1.10). Inscription
Inscription
Photo: Patricia Hills
21.1 Girls Indoors

Johnson’s daughter, Ethel, was born in May 1870, and it is not surprising that Johnson would use her (but not exclusively) as a model for the many pictures of young girls in interiors—playing with dolls, warming their hands by a stove, reading, sleeping. Such pictures often include the same furniture, such as the prie dieu (church prayer bench or kneeler) seen in Family Cares and The Tea Party. Because they were genre paintings, not portraits, Johnson freely renders the facial features. Thus, it is not surprising that for paintings done circa 1873, the bodily types of the girls look like three-year-olds; whereas those done circa 1878, look more like eight-years-olds. —PH

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Hills no. 21.1.10
The Voice of the Harp
Alternate title: Voice of the Harp
1872
Oil on board
22 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (56.5 x 46.4 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: E. Johnson./1872
This catalogue raisonné strives to reproduce the available historical information, as it was written in the period, while acknowledging that readers today may find many of these terms objectionable or racist. Please see the Racist Language/Negative Stereotypes Statement »
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Record last updated July 13, 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 Voice of the Harp, 1872 (Hills no. 21.1.10)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=280 (accessed on March 29, 2024).