Catalogue Entry
Works in the Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné are organized into themes based on medium, locale (United States or Europe), and subject matter. Portraits made in the United States are further categorized by when Johnson made them: early (before he went to Europe in 1849) and late (after he returned to the United States in 1855). Uncategorized paintings are paintings for which all of these details are unknown. Either the subject matter indicated by the title is ambiguous (for example, “An Arrangement in Black and White”) or the subject matter is clear (for example, A Boy in a Torn Straw Hat), but it is unknown when and/or where Johnson made the work. In some cases it is not even certain but deduced from the available information that the works are paintings rather than drawings. Future research may enable the works in this theme to be identified more specifically.
There are also paintings in our research records that are not categorized and included in the catalogue raisonné, because they have not been proven to be unique works. They may be the same as paintings already included in the EJCR with different titles. In those cases, we add information from the not-included work (title, provenance, etc.) to the entry for the included work as “possibly.” We will add catalogue entries for those works in the future if research proves them to be unique. —AM
MacGibeny, 2021: Since Johnson made several works related to musical pieces, it is possible that this painting relates to the opera The Bohemian Girl, composed by Michael William Balfe in 1843, in which the Gypsy Queen plays a villainous role. The opera was performed in 1871 at the National Academy of Design, of which Johnson was a member, and at other venues in New York before and after that date.
When in Europe early in his career, Johnson made a painting called The Bohemian Girl, but the reason for the title is unknown and it too may or may not refer to the opera.