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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Catalogue Entry
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© 1991 Christie’s Images Limited
⊠
13.7 Maine Haylofts, 1870s
In 1877, and possibly 1878, Johnson visited his sister Harriet May and her family in Kennebunkport, Maine. He found a delightful subject in the games the children played in the barn. For Johnson it was another opportunity to render darkened interiors, from which figures emerge, with sunlight shining through loft doors and playing off the partially illuminated figures and objects in the foreground. It is quite likely that many of the paintings were finished in his New York studio. —PH
Hills no. 13.7.2
The Confab
Alternate titles: possibly The Confab (Two Children); possibly Two Children on a Beam in a Barn; Two Children in Barn
c.1877
Locale: Kennebunkport, Maine
Oil on board
22 x 12 1/4 in. (55.9 x 31.1 cm)
Signed lower right in perspective: E. Johnson
Private collection
Markings
Verso: upper right, in pen: Mrs. Benj. Brown; in crayon: X128; sticker: Consigned Date/ Clarke 22 x /12 ¼ / 942
Provenance
[Possibly Artists' Fund Society, New York, January 22, 1878 (as The Confab)]
Possibly Thomas B. Clarke
[Possibly American Art Association, New York, December 2, 1931, Anderson Galleries, Sale 3933, Collection of the Late Thomas B. Clarke, lot 128 (as The Truants)]
Private collection, possibly New Hampshire or Maine
Mrs. Benjamin Brown, Massachusetts, by 1941 (by purchase)
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1979 (by gift; acc. no. 1979.22); deaccessioned
[Christie's, December 6, 1991, Property of Rose Art Museum, lot 39 (as The Confab)]
Private collection, December 6, 1991 (by purchase)
[Christie's, January 2015, private sale]
Private collection, January 2015 (by purchase)
Exhibitions
1877d Century Association
Century Association, New York, November 3, 1877, [possibly, as Two Children on a Beam in a Barn].1878 Artists' Fund Society
Artists' Fund Society, New York, January 22, 1878, no. 58, [possibly, as The Confab, likely owner Eastman Johnson].References
Benjamin 1883
Benjamin, S. G. W. "Eastman Johnson." Some Modern Artists and Their Work. In The Confab Modern School of Art, edited by Wilfrid Meynell. New York: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1883, p. 153 (as "the 'Confab'").Walton 1906
Walton, William. "Eastman Johnson, Painter." Scribner's Magazine 40 (September 1906), p. 267 illus., as The Confab.Hills 1977
Hills, Patricia. The Genre Paintings of Eastman Johnson: The Sources and Development of His Style and Themes. New York: Garland Publishing, 1977, p. 143, as The Confab.Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1979-05-06; 1991-10-22
Examination notes: 1979-05-06: Girl's face, black hairline alongside of her face; outlines boots and stockings as well. Flowers purple and yellow. Right girl tan coat, brown skirt; red pantaloons, blue stockings with white stripes. Left: navy blue green coat, white stockings with blue stripes. Hat on ground: turquoise ribbon.
1991-10-22: Confab looks great. Pudgy hands—wonderful. 1) Line along edge of right face and edges of hands. 2) Note folds of turquoise coat—burnt sienna of background serves as midtone shadowed area. 3) Bits of hay—good—gives a freshness. Back: old grey paper backing.
1991-10-22: Confab looks great. Pudgy hands—wonderful. 1) Line along edge of right face and edges of hands. 2) Note folds of turquoise coat—burnt sienna of background serves as midtone shadowed area. 3) Bits of hay—good—gives a freshness. Back: old grey paper backing.
Related work
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Keywords
- Ownership status:
Record last updated July 28, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "The Confab, c.1877 (Hills no. 13.7.2)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=365 (accessed on May 5, 2024).