Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Morris Museum
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23.0 Children and Pets
A traditional theme in genre painting, but also seen in children’s portraits, are children interacting with their pets. Pets, then and now, were given to children to encourage responsibility and even empathy toward other creatures. Pictures in the theme Maine Haylofts (13.7) also include children and pets. —PH
Hills no. 23.0.21
1907 Sale no. 57
Teaching Caesar
Alternate title: Puss in Corner
c.1881
Oil on panel
20 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (52.1 x 39.4 cm)
Initialed lower left: EJ
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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. 57: "A little girl has propped on its hind quarters her pet cat in the corner of a couch, and is endeavoring to teach it to sit upright. She wears a short dark blue dress with a white collar and light blue stockings, and sits cross-legged, holding up her right hand with a gesture of authority. The group is strongly lighted from the left, and in the background is suggested a simple interior with a bureau, on the corner of which is a blue jar."
"Signed at the lower left, E. J.
Height, 22 inches; width, 15 ½ inches."
[Annotation: “47.50”]
"Signed at the lower left, E. J.
Height, 22 inches; width, 15 ½ inches."
[Annotation: “47.50”]
Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, as Teaching Caesar.
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, American Paintings: A Gathering from Three Centuries, October 5–31, 1975. (Exhibition catalogue: Parry 1975), as Teaching Caesar.
Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences, Morristown, New Jersey, American Art Treasures Discovered, April 17–May 29, 1977. (Gerdts 1977), as Teaching Caesar.
References
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. 57, as Teaching Caesar.
Parry, Elwood. American Paintings: A Gathering from Three Centuries. Princeton, NJ: Historical Society of Princeton, 1975. Exhibition catalogue (1975 Historical Society of Princeton), as Teaching Caesar.
Gerdts, William H. American Art Treasures Discovered. Morristown, NJ: Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1977. Exhibition catalogue (1977 Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences), n.p., no. 96, illus., as Teaching Caesar.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-09-23
Examination notes: Girl with turquoise blue stockings—darker blue (?) coat, white collar. Scruffed brown floor—divan—red cover with turquoise diamonds. Secretary behind—cat sits up on its hind legs. Brown background. Hair similar to the hair in Party Dress.
2019-10-28 comment: Likely Ethel was the subject.
2019-10-28 comment: Likely Ethel was the subject.
Related work
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Conkling, Ethel Eastman Johnson (Mrs. Alfred Ronald Conkling, later Mrs. William H. Holden)
Keywords
- Portrait sitter families
: - Subject matter
: - Cats »
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. "Teaching Caesar, c.1881 (Hills no. 23.0.21)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=351 (accessed on May 1, 2025).