Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné

Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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[ 27.0 Literary/Historical ]

⊠

27.0 Literary/Historical

In addition to his scenes of everyday life and portraits of people, Johnson created images of historical events and figures from works of literature, drama, and music. For example, “Carry Me, and I’ll Drum You Through” was inspired by an incident from the Battle of Antietam, 1862, and Membership Vote at the Union League Club, May 11, 1876, recorded a contentious meeting in which he participated much later. His Marguerite, Cosette, and Minnehaha are personifications of fictional heroines from novels and poetry. His Boy Lincoln represents both the future United States president and the archetypical American youth who, with determination and hard work, could succeed. Johnson rendered several of these imaginative images as both paintings and drawings. These literary and historical works evince both his personal interest in those subjects and his awareness of their popularity with the broad public. —AM

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Hills no. 27.0.1

1907 Sale no. 84

Margaret at the Wheel

c.1851–55

Locale: The Netherlands

Oil

13 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (34.3 x 24.1 cm)

Initialed lower left: E. J.

Present whereabouts unknown

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.

MacGibeny, 2021: "Gretchen am Spinnrade," or "Little Margaret at the Spinning Wheel," is an 1814 musical piece by Franz Schubert.

1907 Estate Sale

No. 84: "This is a study of a young Dutch girl engaged in spinning at a simple flax wheel. She wears a broad, full lace cap over a gilt casque, a black bodice, a blue apron and a dull red dress. Skilfully twisting the tow from the distaff with both hands, she pedals with her right foot, and, familiar with her task, looks away from her wheel as if in conversation."
"Signed at the lower left, E. J.
Height, 13 ½ inches; width, 9 ½ inches"
[Annotation: “52.00”]

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. 84 (as Margaret at the Wheel)]

Present whereabouts unknown

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. 84, as Margaret at the Wheel.

Keywords

Subject matter:

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. "Margaret at the Wheel, c.1851–55 (Hills no. 27.0.1)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=35 (accessed on April 19, 2024).