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. 23.0.14
Baur no. 131 / 1907 Sale no. 39
The Pet Angora Rabbit
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts title: Girl with Rabbit
Alternate titles: possibly Child and Rabbit; possibly My Pet Rabbit
c.1878
Oil on academy board
20 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (51.4 x 29.2 cm)
Signed right center: E. Johnson
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Description / Remarks
Hills, 2021: The girl in this painting likely was modeled by Johnson's daughter, Ethel.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts website, accessed February 1, 2021: "A young girl dressed in a long blue dress stands facing left, a bit sideways with her face looking back towards the right at the viewer. In her arms is nestled against her left shoulder a white and brown rabbit. The rabbit faces to the right."
1907 Estate Sale 
No. 39: "A tall young girl, dressed in a complete suit of gray, stands in profile, holding a fluffy brown and white rabbit upon her bosom, the head of the animal half concealing her face. The figure is strongly lighted from the upper left."
"Signed at the right, E. Johnson.
Height, 20 inches; width, 11 ½ inches."
[Annotation: “50.00”]
"Signed at the right, E. Johnson.
Height, 20 inches; width, 11 ½ inches."
[Annotation: “50.00”]
Provenance
Exhibitions
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [possibly, 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. 5, [possibly, as My Pet Rabbit], on board, 20 1/4 x 11 3/4, Signed L.L. [sic], Description: "The girl standing suggests the later studies of Chase, with shadows and lack of definition."
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. 39, as The Pet Angora 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), p. 65, no. 131, as The Pet Angora Rabbit.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1971-06-26
Examination notes: Standing girl, holding a rabbit up to her face. Pencil lines on hands and sleeves. Brownish background. Gray, brown blue dress. White rabbit with brown ears.
Likely Ethel Johnson was the subject.
Likely Ethel Johnson was the subject.
Keywords
- 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. "The Pet Angora Rabbit, c.1878 (Hills no. 23.0.14)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=360 (accessed on April 25, 2024).