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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Patricia Hills, PhD, Founder and Director | Abigael MacGibeny, MA, Project Manager

Catalogue Entry

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Photo: Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
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

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Hills no. 27.0.20
Milton (Sketch for "Milton and His Daughters")
Alternate titles: Head of Milton; Milton; Portrait of John Milton; The Poet Milton
c.1875–76
Oil on board
12 x 9 7/8 in. (30.5 x 25.1 cm)
Initialed lower right: E.J.
Labels
Sticker on verso, upper left: "Milton" by/Eastman Johnson; blue, upper right: M053602/24 [in ink] Ex Benny Goodman/Collection; 1180/x36; lower right, 2" from edge: E.J.
Provenance
Benny Goodman Collection
[Christie's, May 30, 1986, The Property of Benny Goodman, lot 62 (as The Poet Milton)]
[Sotheby's, October 24, 1986, Property from the Estate of Benny Goodman, lot 36 (as Milton)]
[Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Philadelphia, December 7, 2008, lot 95 (as Milton)]
[Swann Auction Galleries, New York, June 4, 2009, lot 87 (as Portrait of John Milton)]
Private collection, New York (by purchase)
Present whereabouts unknown
Exhibitions
1907a Century Association
Century Association, New York, Memorial Exhibition of Eastman Johnson, February 9–13, 1907, as Head of Milton.
References
Douglass 1999
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. 266, as Head of Milton.
Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 2008-10-31
Examination notes: From notes in Hills binder: Eyes closed. Brick red chair. Right side in shadow (cf May's photo) but darker shadow on chair behind. Left eye—get the sense of the socket—and eyeball protruding. Very brushy—left cheek. Thinning hair.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Milton, John
Biography:

John Milton (1608–1674). English poet. Author of Paradise Lost.

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Keywords
Record last updated August 1, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Milton (Sketch for "Milton and His Daughters"), c.1875–76 (Hills no. 27.0.20)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=465 (accessed on March 29, 2024).