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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Catalogue Entry
⊠
21.2 Girls Outdoors
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
Hills no. 21.2.1
Girl Picking Flowers
Alternate titles: possibly Girl with Flowers; possibly The Little Flower Girl; possibly The Little Flower-Girl
1862
Oil on artist's board
9 x 6 7/8 in. (22.9 x 17.5 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: E. Johnson .62
Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Markings
Stencil on verso: VILLER Paris
Provenance
Possibly E. C. Moore, by 1864
Possibly Moore's Art Rooms, New York, 1874 (as The Little Flower-Girl)
Possibly J. Y. Culyer, by 1875
Loree Collection, New York
Wildenstein and Company, New York, 1952–1958
Mr. and Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, New York, 1958 (by purchase)
Michael Altman Fine Art, New York, by 1995
Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 1995 (by purchase)
Exhibitions
1864 Yonkers Sanitary Fair
Yonkers Sanitary Fair, Yonkers, New York, February 15, 1864, no. 16, [possibly, as Girl with Flowers].1874 Moore's Art Rooms
Moore's Art Rooms, New York, 1874, [possibly, as The Little Flower-Girl].1875 Brooklyn Art Association
Brooklyn Art Association, Brooklyn, New York, November 29–December 11, 1875, no. 146, [poosibly, as The Little Flower Girl], owner J. Y. Culyer.1970 Coe Kerr Gallery
Coe Kerr Gallery, Inc, New York, The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, November 10–28, 1970. (Gerdts 1970), no. 63.References
Gerdts 1970
Gerdts, William H. The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth. New York: Coe Kerr Gallery, 1970. Exhibition catalogue (1970 Coe Kerr Gallery), p. 38, no. 63, illus.Douglass 1999
Douglass, Julie M. "Lifetime Exhibition History." In Eastman Johnson: Painting America, by Teresa A. Carbone and Patricia Hills. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum of Art, in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 1999. Exhibition catalogue, pp. 260-261 (as Girl with Flowers and The Little Flower Girl).Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-11-09
Examination notes: Soft focus quality. Strokes are effaced in all of the figure—no impasto. But thin pen-like [should be graphite] lines define folds of skirt, edge of hand and sleeve. Background and ground are handled slightly more loosely. Sienna browns in background. Green over brown on ground. Bouquet consists of tiny pink and white buds (spots) with bright green leaves. Tiny pink and white flowers on ground. Painting has a luminous quality—colors muted but not dull.
Related work
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Keywords
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Record last updated July 28, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Girl Picking Flowers, 1862 (Hills no. 21.2.1)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=295 (accessed on May 8, 2024).