Lambs, Nantucket

1874

Eastman Johnson

Associated Names
Eastman Johnson

Artist, American, 1824 - 1906

This painting shows a woman standing outdoors, facing the left. She has pale skin, and her face is in shadow, obscured by a wide-brimmed flat white hat with a red stripe around the edge, tied with a black bow behind her head. She wears a long black dress with a fitted bodice, a bustle, and black lacy decorations. She has a red bag that appears to hang from her waist and wears tan gloves. In her hand she holds a small rectangular object that could be a small bag or closed book. She stands on a grassy field with a body of water in the background under the light blue cloudy sky. A small white sheep drinks from a saucer in the bottom left corner, and more sheep are visible grazing in the background on the right. A few white sailboats dot the calm water on the horizon.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 68


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on board

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 48.26 × 39.69 cm (19 × 15 5/8 in.)
    framed: 63.18 × 54.93 × 5.24 cm (24 7/8 × 21 5/8 × 2 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.89.3


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Hirsch & Adler Galleries, New York); sold September 1974 to Paul Mellon [1907-1999], Upperville, Virginia; bequest 1999 to NGA, with life interest to Mrs. Mellon; life interest released 2012.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1980

  • American Light: The Luminist Movement 1850-1875, National Gallery of Art, 1980, p. 49, 146, 208, repro. plate 32.

Bibliography

1982

  • Di Curcio, Robert A. Art on Nantucket: The History of Painting on Nantucket Island. Nantucket, Massachusetts, 1982: no. 166, repro.

1990

  • Simpson, Marc, Salley Mills and Patricia Hills. Eastman Johnson: The Cranberry Harvest, Island of Nantucket. Exh. cat. Timken Art Gallery, San Diego, 1990: 45 n. 7.

1999

  • Carbone, Teresa A., and Patricia Hills. Eastman Johnson: Painting America. Exh. cat. Brooklyn Museum of Art; San Diego Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum. New York, 1999: 212 n. 16.

Inscriptions

lower right: E. Johnson / Aug. 29 - 74.

Wikidata ID

Q20188775

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