Barn Swallows

Currently not on view

Barn Swallows

1878

Eastman Johnson (American, 1824–1906)

Eastman Johnson's depictions of rural life appealed to a widespread sense of nostalgia in the American post-Civil War era. Barn Swallows is one of several similar subjects he produced in 1877 and 1878 while visiting his sister, Harriet May, and her family at their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Though New Yorkers, the May children and their friends represent a rustic ideal of childhood on the farm. The restless children perch inside a shadowy barn on a summer day, illuminated only indirectly by sunlight reaching into the space. A cast-off book and an abandoned bouquet tell of the diversions that fill their happy days.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Barn Swallows

Date:

1878

Artist:

Eastman Johnson (American, 1824–1906)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

27 3/16 x 22 3/16 inches (69.1 x 56.4 cm) Framed: 35 × 30 × 3 1/4 inches (88.9 × 76.2 × 8.3 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. John Wintersteen in memory of John Wintersteen, 1953

Accession Number:

1953-111-1

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view