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Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
Catalogue Entry
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Photo: Spanierman Gallery, courtesy of Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D.
Frame
Photo: Spanierman Gallery, courtesy of Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D.
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Detail
Photo: Patricia Hills
Verso
Photo: Patricia Hills
⊠
31.5 U.S. Portraits, Children and Adolescents
Johnson’s portraits of children and adolescents were often part of a larger commission to paint whole families. In some instances, the children had died and their parents wished to have a reminder of their loved ones. —PH
Hills no. 31.5.11r
Kitty Pierson
Alternate title: Kitty Pierson Gathering Wild Grapes
1876
Oil on board
19 1/8 x 14 1/2 in. (48.6 x 36.8 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: E. Johnson / 1876
Private collection, Boston
Description / Remarks
Parke-Bernet sale catalogue, 1964: "A little girl dressed in a white summer frock with red sash, stands before a background of trees and vines, holding bunches of purple grapes."
Markings
Verso of board: drawing of a man
Labels
Plate on frame: KITTY PIERSON/BY/EASTMAN JOHNSON
Label on verso of board: VG 8-25-1-16
Label on verso of frame, upper right: [blank]; upper right: Vose Galleries: Kitty Pierson / #20605 / 19 x 14 1/2 / #25154 / 19 x 14 1/2; upper center: 107. Kitty Pierson Gathering Wild Grapes, Signed "E. Johnson 1876"
Label on verso of board: VG 8-25-1-16
Label on verso of frame, upper right: [blank]; upper right: Vose Galleries: Kitty Pierson / #20605 / 19 x 14 1/2 / #25154 / 19 x 14 1/2; upper center: 107. Kitty Pierson Gathering Wild Grapes, Signed "E. Johnson 1876"
Provenance
Private collection, Hingham, Massachusetts, c. December 1961
Vose Galleries, Boston, February 1962
Maxim Karolik and estate, Newport, Rhode Island, March 1, 1962, until 1964 (by purchase)
[Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, June 17–19, 1964, Auction of the Estate of the Late Maxim Karolik, lot 228]
Private dealer, Longmeadow, Massachusetts, 1964
H. James Stone and estate, Brockton, Massachusetts, until June 1977 (by purchase)
[Vose Galleries, Boston, June 1977]
Private collection, Virginia, July 1977 (by purchase)
Spanierman Gallery, New York, by June 2010
[Vose Galleries, Boston, July 2016]
Private collection, Boston, December 11, 2017 (by purchase)
References
Parke-Bernet 1964
Parke-Bernet Auction of the Estate of the Late Maxim Karolik. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, June 17–19, 1964. Sale catalogue, lot 228.Hills Examination / Opinion
Examination date(s): 2010-06-14; 2019-03-28
Examination notes: 2010-06-14: She clutches grapes, chubby fingers. White dress, red sash. Slight pencil (graphite lines) on L side of face. Cupid's bow lips. Eyes in shadow. Graphite around eyes; red bow on top of head. Freely painted background. Stands in front of a log; feet fade into grass. Unidentified trees, branches—very free. Underpainting comes through (used as the middle tones).
2019-03-28: Very painterly at the UL. Looks like the landscape of the Baxter children. Perhaps a painter friend did the landscape part; EJ collaborated with landscape painters sometimes, cf one of the maple sugar paintings. Although no evidence here. LR greens look ok. Soft chiaroscuro on face; no graphite lines visible on face. Note verso: Lunging figure; face at UL.
2019-03-28: Very painterly at the UL. Looks like the landscape of the Baxter children. Perhaps a painter friend did the landscape part; EJ collaborated with landscape painters sometimes, cf one of the maple sugar paintings. Although no evidence here. LR greens look ok. Soft chiaroscuro on face; no graphite lines visible on face. Note verso: Lunging figure; face at UL.
Sitter Biography
Sitter: Pierson, Kitty
Biography:
Kitty Pierson (life dates unknown).
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Keywords
- Portrait pose:
Record last updated November 11, 2021. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "Kitty Pierson, 1876 (Hills no. 31.5.11r)." Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=794 (accessed on May 4, 2024).