Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2021
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27.0 Literary/Historical
In addition to his scenes of everyday life and portraits of people, Johnson created images of historical events and figures from works of literature, drama, and music. For example, “Carry Me, and I’ll Drum You Through” was inspired by an incident from the Battle of Antietam, 1862, and Membership Vote at the Union League Club, May 11, 1876, recorded a contentious meeting in which he participated much later. His Marguerite, Cosette, and Minnehaha are personifications of fictional heroines from novels and poetry. His Boy Lincoln represents both the future United States president and the archetypical American youth who, with determination and hard work, could succeed. Johnson rendered several of these imaginative images as both paintings and drawings. These literary and historical works evince both his personal interest in those subjects and his awareness of their popularity with the broad public. —AM
Hills no. 27.0.17
The Prisoner of State
Alternate titles: possibly Prisoner; possibly The Prisoner; A Prisoner of State; Prisoner of State
c.1874
Oil on board
26 1/2 x 22 1/2 in. (67.3 x 57.2 cm)
Initialed lower right: E. J.; verso: The Prisoner of State/Eastman Johnson/[Labor?] of/E.J.
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Labels
Labels on verso: Collection Harry Glass; Kennedy Gallery, 70639; [red-bordered oblong label]
Provenance
Exhibitions
Chicago Interstate Industrial Exposition, Chicago, 1875, no. 211, [possibly, as The Prisoner].
The Southern Exposure, Louisville, Kentucky, August 1–November 1883, no. 323, [possibly, as The Prisoner of State], owner George I. Seney, Brooklyn.
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, [possibly, as Prisoner of State).
References
"Fine Art in the West: The Art Gallery of the Chicago Exposition: A Notable Collection—The Trials of the Committee—Gossip about the Pictures—M'Entee, Leutze, Eastman Johnson" [From a Special Correspondent, Chicago, September 21, 1875]. New York Times, September 26, 1875, p. 10 [possibly]: “One of the most charming pictures in the collection is Eastman Johnson’s 'Old Stage Coach’…The sunny contentment of the merry group of children takes you out of the work-a-day world…Another picture in the Johnson group—“The Prisoner”—is well known for its terrible power. It is a striking proof of versatile genius that this doomed, hungry-eyed man and the Arcadian group of boys and girls about the old stage coach should have been born from the same brain and brush.”.
"My Note Book." The Art Amateur 12, no. 6 (May 1885), p. 120: “The American pictures, on the whole, held their own, and, as will be seen from the following table, came nearer bringing what was paid for them than did the average of imported pictures:…114. Eastman Johnson. A Prisoner of State. Brought 400. Cost 1000," as A Prisoner of State.
Catalogue of Mr. George I. Seney's Collection of Modern Paintings. New York: American Art Galleries, March 1885. Sale catalogue, no. 114, pp. 30-31, 77, as A Prisoner of State.
Champlin, John Denison, Jr., and Charles C. Perkins. Cyclopedia of Painters and Paintings. Vol. 2. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1886, p. 351 [possibly, as Prisoner of State (1874)].
Low, Will. "Eastman Johnson—His Life and Works." Scribner's Magazine 40, no. 2 (August 1906), p. 254 [possibly, as Prisoner of State].
Walton, William. "Eastman Johnson, Painter." Scribner's Magazine 40 (September 1906), p. 272 [possibly, as Prisoner of State].
American 19th & 20th Century Paintings, Drawings, Watercolors & Sculpture. New York: Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 25, 1979. Sale catalogue, no. 44.
Property from the Estate of Harry Glass. New York: Sotheby's, May 25, 1994. Sale catalogue, lot 30, as Prisoner of State.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 1994-05-06
Examination notes: Heavy inner frame 26 1/2 x 22 1/2. Bird in bars. Figure wears breeches and blue green stockings—very dark now. Can see graphite line along leg. Very deft—pinpoint highlights on his blue eyes. White blue highlights on buttons. White splat on wall—to left of chest. Shadows—very luminous.
Related work
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Keywords
- Subject matter:
Record last updated January 3, 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 Prisoner of State, c.1874 (Hills no. 27.0.17)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=464 (accessed on April 20, 2024).