Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
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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. 23.0.15
Baur no. 89 / 1907 Sale no. 60
Child and Rabbit
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts title: Child Teaching Rabbit
Alternate titles: Possibly The Artist's Daughter; My Pet Rabbit
c.1878
Oil on paper board
19 7/8 x 15 5/8 in. (50.5 x 39.7 cm)
Initialed lower right: E.J.; verso, in pencil: Eastman Johnson
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Description / Remarks
Baur 1940, p. 47: "The girl has been tentatively identified as Ethel, Johnson's daughter. See also [Baur] no. 108 [Girl with Rabbits]."
1907 Estate Sale 
No. 60: "A small girl is seated in an unconventional attitude in a large wooden chair, one leg thrown over the arm and the other curled under her. In her lap she holds a pet rabbit, at which she is gazing with interest and affection."
"Signed at the lower right, E. J.
Height, 20 inches; width, 15 ¾ inches."
[Annotation: “125.00 / Thos H. Hubbard"]
"Signed at the lower right, E. J.
Height, 20 inches; width, 15 ¾ inches."
[Annotation: “125.00 / Thos H. Hubbard"]
Labels
On verso, upper left: Whitney Museum of American Art label
Provenance
Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, February 1, 1879, [possibly, as The Artist's Daughter].
Society of American Artists, New York, March 24–April 28, 1900, no. 297, [possibly, as Child and Rabbit].
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [likely, as Child and Rabbit].
Frazier Gallery, New York, Eastman Johnson 1824–1906: Forerunner of Homer and Eakins, September–October 1937. (Hirschl 1937); (Frazier Gallery 1937a), no. 4, as My Pet Rabbit.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906, January 18, 1939–February 26, 1940. (Exhibition catalogue: Baur 1940), no. 89, as Child Teaching Rabbit.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition, March 28–May 14, 1972. (Exhibition catalogue: Hills 1972a), no. 96, b/w illus., p. 86, as Child Teaching Rabbit. Traveled to: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, June 7–July 22, 1972; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, August 15–September 30, 1972; Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, October 20–December 3, 1972.
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. 60, as Child and Rabbit.
"Eastman Johnson Sale." American Art News 5, no. 20 (March 2, 1907), p. 3, as Child and Rabbit.
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), pp. 46-47, 64, no. 89, as Child Teaching Rabbit.
Hills, Patricia. Eastman Johnson: Retrospective Exhibition. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1972. Exhibition catalogue (1972 Whitney Museum), p. 86, no. 96, illus.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-06-26
Examination notes: Sienna brown luminous background. Grey dress with turquoise stripe. Brick red leggings and black boots. Brownish hair. White rabbit with brown ears. Folds darkly outlined. Also silhouette of sleeves. Soft pink face. Boots fade out into brown.
Baur identifies the subject as Ethel, his daughter. Hills agrees.
Baur identifies the subject as Ethel, his daughter. Hills agrees.
Conkling, Ethel Eastman Johnson (Mrs. Alfred Ronald Conkling, later Mrs. William H. Holden)
Keywords
- Portrait sitter families:
- Subject matter:
- Rabbits »
Record last updated June 29, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Child and Rabbit, c.1878 (Hills no. 23.0.15)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=355 (accessed on April 25, 2024).