A Day Dream
What do you daydream about?
The art historian Patricia Hills once described this painting: “Here one is tempted to see the window as a symbol of a world beyond the kitchen, the sewing room, and the nursery, inaccessible to the young woman.” Do you see this window as a metaphor, or as an ordinary domestic detail? Johnson’s mastery is clear in the multiple possible interpretations of this painting—the viewer can see what they want in the woman’s pensive expression, the humble interior, and the snowfall outside.
\ Artist
Eastman Johnson
Although Eastman Johnson is best known today for his depictions of life in late 19th-century America, he derived most of his income from portraiture. Starting in the mid-1840s, he secured important portrait commissions through his father’s political connections. Following a period of study in Europe, Johnson divided his efforts between portraits and genre pictures. After the turmoil of the Civil War, his narrative scenes offered views of American communities and family life.
\ About
Oil on paperboard
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd