Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
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Photo: © 2020 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
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44.5 Euro Portrait Drawings, Children and Adolescents, Unidentified
The children and adolescents in these portraits have not yet been identified by name. However, the drawings are known to have been done in Europe based on their inscriptions and style. Johnson studied and worked in Europe (in Düsseldorf, The Hague, and briefly in Paris) from 1849 to 1855. —AM
Hills no. 44.5.2
Baur no. 437
My Jew Boy
Alternate titles: Jew Boy; Jewish Boy
1852, February
Locale: The Hague, the Netherlands
Graphite, crayon, and white chalk on paper
14 x 12 1/2 in. (35.6 x 31.8 cm)
Dated and inscribed lower right: Hague Feb./52 / My Jew boy
This catalogue raisonné strives to reproduce the available historical information, as it was written in the period, while acknowledging that readers today may find many of these terms objectionable or racist. Please see the Racist Language/Negative Stereotypes Statement »
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Description/Remarks
Hills, 2022: This seems to be the only instance when Johnson himself used a word that at the time would have signaled the sitter as an outsider and that today may be considered offensive.
References
"The Institute Collection of Drawings." The Carnegie Magazine (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 6, no. 5 (October 1932), p. 151, illus., as My Jew Boy.
Baur, John I. H. An American Genre Painter: Eastman Johnson, 1824–1906. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, 1940. Exhibition catalogue (1939 Brooklyn Museum), p. 80, no. 437, as Jew Boy.
Wallach, Alan. "Eastman Johnson's Jews." Perspectives on Eastman Johnson, National Academy of Design (New York), February 15, 2022, as My Jew Boy.
Hills Examination/Opinion
Examination date(s): June 15, 1971
Examination notes: Eyes looking up. Good drawing. Slight moustache. White highlights on cheeks, nose, eye, forehead and collar.
Related work
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Keywords
- Portrait pose:
- Half length »
- Portrait »
- Profile »
- Seated »
Record last updated March 30, 2022. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Hills, Patricia, and Abigael MacGibeny. "My Jew Boy, 1852, February (Hills no. 44.5.2)." In Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné. www.eastmanjohnson.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=813 (accessed on October 12, 2024).