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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Catalogue Entry
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Photo: Courtesy of Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York
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24.0 Adolescent Girls
As Johnson got to know his nieces and also his daughter Ethel during their teen-aged years, he realized that they were not just genteel creatures who read books, but also smart young adults who read newspapers. Of all American artists, Johnson is perhaps the only artist (besides women artists such as Lily Martin Spencer and Mary Cassatt) who shows women reading newspapers. —PH
Hills no. 24.0.7
1907 Sale no. 119
Study for Interesting News
1907 Sale title: The Interesting Book [incorrect]
Alternate titles: possibly Girl Reading on a Sopha; Girl Reading; Sketch of a Girl on a Couch
c.1872
Oil on board
21 3/4 x 24 in. (55.2 x 61 cm)
Initialed lower right: E.J.
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 »
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 
No. 119: "A young girl has thrown herself on a lounge covered with gay-colored old-fashioned chintz. She is resting, and at the same time entertaining herself with some pleasing story."
"Signed at the lower right, E. J.
Height, 21 ¾ inches; width, 24 ½ inches."
[Annotation: "35.00”]
"Signed at the lower right, E. J.
Height, 21 ¾ inches; width, 24 ½ inches."
[Annotation: "35.00”]
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. 119 (as The Interesting Book)]
Private collection
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, by December 15, 1969
Unidentified buyer, December 15, 1969 (by purchase)
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, possibly by 1971 until at least 1973
Present whereabouts unknown
Exhibitions
1872b Century Association
Century Association, New York, February 3, 1872, no. 24, [possibly, as Girl Reading on a Sopha].1973 Kennedy Galleries
Kennedy Galleries, New York, American Masters: 18th and 19th Centuries, March 14–April 7, 1973, no. 28, illus., n.p., as Girl Reading.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. 119, as The Interesting Book [incorrect].Kennedy Galleries 1973
American Masters: 18th and 19th Centuries. New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1973, n.p., no. 28, illus., as Girl Reading.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, p. 261 [possibly, as Girl Weaving on a Sofa—incorrect].Lang n.d.
Lang, Louis. Art History of the Century Association, 1847–1880. . Century Association Archives Foundation, New York, p. 81, no. 24 [possibly, as Girl reading on a sopha].Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-07-21
Examination notes: Brown wall, thinly painted with white over brown paint. Multicolored chintz cover on couch. Very empty room.
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Keywords
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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. "Study for Interesting News, c.1872 (Hills no. 24.0.7)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=314 (accessed on April 20, 2024).