The Truants

c. 1870

Eastman Johnson

Associated Names
Eastman Johnson

Painter, American, 1824 - 1906

The painting shows an enormous tree with a hollowed base where two people, potentially young boys, are taking shelter. The boys sit together in the hollow base of the tree, one appearing to read a piece of paper. They both have light skin and wear hats and warm clothing. To the left, a small box sits at the base of the tree, and beyond that is a wooden barrel that appears to be attached to a sled. The ground surrounding the tree is covered with snow, with small brown patches peeking out. It is surrounded by more small brown trees, and in the background near the top right corner are distant blue mountains and small gray and red houses. The sky is pale blue behind the leafless branches.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Estate of the artist; (his estate sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 26-27 February 1907, no. 129). Mrs. E. W. McMahon, Pelham, New York;[1] purchased May 1962 by (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York); purchased 27 March 1963 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] According to correspondence 13 November 2003 from Hirschl & Adler to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. See NGA curatorial file. Probably Mrs. Edward Ward McMahon.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1963

  • Progress of an American Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 25 October-29 December 1963, unpublished checklist, as The Shelter.

1977

  • Exhibition of 19th Century American Landscape Painting, The Committee on House Administration of the United States House of Representatives, Washington, 31 January-31 March 1977, as The Shelter.

  • Themes in American Painting, Grand Rapids Art Museum, 1 October-30 November 1977, no. 40, repro., as The Shelter.

1980

  • Inaugural Exhibition: The Seven Ages of Man, London Regional Art Gallery, Ontario, 3 May-15 June 1980, unnumbered cat., repro., as The Shelter.

  • Snow Show, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, 18 January-16 March 1980, no. 46, as The Shelter.

2004

  • Sugaring Off: The Maple Sugar Paintings of Eastman Johnson, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts; Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California, 2004, repro., as The Shelter.

Bibliography

2011

  • Cash, Sarah, ed. Corcoran Gallery of Art: American Paintings to 1945. Washington, 2011: 304, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: E. J.

Wikidata ID

Q46629831

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