Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
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26.7 Old Men Reading
In the mid-1870s, Johnson took up the subject of old men reading, sometimes seen outdoors but usually indoors. The large size of the books suggests that the men are reading the Bible. With their suggestion of time passing and the solace of faith, such works are a solemn contrast to the joie de vivre of works such as the Old Stage Coach, which depicts young children using the relics of the past as their playground. —PH
Hills no. 26.7.9
Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path
Alternate titles: Interior; Reading the Bible; Reading the Bible—Nantucket
c.1875–81
Oil on canvas
22 1/4 x 26 3/4 in. (56.5 x 67.9 cm)
Signed lower right: E. Johnson
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Description / Remarks
MacGibeny, 2021: The title "Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path," which was used for the painting when it was exhibited by the Artists' Fund Society in 1881, is a quote from Psalms 119:105 in the King James Bible.
Nelson-Atkins website, accessed March 1, 2021: "In front of a green, wooden fireplace, a balding, white-bearded man sits at a small round table, reading from a large book, left. A woman wearing a long brown dress, grey apron, and white shawl sits in a chair, right, her cheek resting on her left hand."
Provenance
Private collection, Bernardsville, New Jersey, until 1962
Exhibitions
Artists' Fund Society, New York, Twenty-first Annual Artists' Fund Society Exhibition, January 29–February 8, 1881, no. 60, as Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path, likely owner Eastman Johnson.
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), Exhibited but not included in the exhibition catalogue.
Coe Kerr Gallery, Inc, New York, The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth, November 10–28, 1970. (Gerdts 1970), no. 66.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Kansas, Genre, April 5–May 15, 1983, no. 42, (as Reading the Bible - Nantucket).
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, Domestic Bliss: Family Life in American Painting, 1840–1910, May 18–July 14, 1986. Traveled to: Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum, Rochester, New York, August 17–November 30, 1986.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, Eastman Johnson: Painting America, October 29, 1999–February 6, 2000. (Exhibition catalogue: Carbone and Hills 1999), no. 99, color illus., p. 222, as Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path. Traveled to: San Diego Museum of Fine Arts, San Diego, February 25–May 21, 2000; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, June 8–September 10, 2000.
References
"Artists' Fund Pictures: A Very Creditable List of Pictures from Well-Known Painters." New York Times, February 2, 1881, p. 5: “Mr. P. P. Ryder…has two interiors of American farm-houses…One is identical in subject with the contribution by Mr. Eastman Johnson. Both Mr. Ryder and Mr. Johnson have painted an old couple by their fireplace engaged in reading the Bible. The latter is in his customary vein, perhaps less soft and vague in his outlines than ordinarily, but at any rate by no means at his second best. Mr. Ryder’s old couple are not so well modeled in the hands and faces as that of his older and more famous rival; but in the general tone of the picture and in the arrangement of the figures the younger artist surpasses the senior.”.
Gerdts, William H. The American Painting Collection of Mrs. Norman B. Woolworth. New York: Coe Kerr Gallery, 1970. Exhibition catalogue (1970 Coe Kerr Gallery), p. 40, no. 66, illus.
Douglass, Julie M. "Lifetime Exhibition History." In Eastman Johnson: Painting America, by Teresa A. Carbone and Patricia Hills. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum of Art, in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 1999. Exhibition catalogue, p. 263, as Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1970-11-09
Examination notes: Turquoise boards behind fireplace—also door frame, man's chair and sink at far left. Dusty rose dress—light grey apron. Man dressed in browns. Lady—grey blond hair and light grey cap. Red embers in fireplace. Grey floor boards. Mahogany drop-leaf table. Shiny pail. Very white beams on ceiling (color slight pink grey). Many colors are opaque. The light from left is very white.
Related work
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Keywords
- Subject matter:
Record last updated March 22, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet and a Light unto My Path, c.1875–81 (Hills no. 26.7.9)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=433 (accessed on May 3, 2024).