Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), “Crossing The Stream,” 1866, oil on canvas, 21 by 17 inches, signed and dated lower right “E Johnson / 66.”

NANTUCKET, MASS. — Rafael Osona’s August 6 auction on Nantucket Island features a treasure trove of jewelry, but one of the real gems in the sale is a painting by Eastman Johnson (1824-1906) with great, unbroken provenance.

“Crossing the Stream,” 1866, an oil on canvas measuring 21 by 17 inches, is signed and dated lower right “E Johnson / 66.”

This genre painting has been well-documented since 1867, the year following its completion. To the best of the gallery’s knowledge, it maintains an unbroken provenance dating back to the year of its creation. First exhibited at the Artists’ Fund Society of Philadelphia in 1867, it was at that time listed in the exhibition catalog as being in the collection of the artist.

It was purchased in the 1870s by General Benjamin Rush Cowen (a Union Army general in the Civil War who had previously been Ohio’s secretary of state). Documentation on this painting suggests that Cowen was its first owner. The painting stayed within the family for at least 85 years, and by 1954 it was in the collection of Cowen’s granddaughter, Mrs William Wyatt Breckinridge. Since that time, the painting has been in private collections in New York and Massachusetts.

In addition, “Crossing the Block” is a major technical and artistic achievement that received critical praise in two of the most important reference guides from the Nineteenth Century. In Book on the Artists, critic Henry Tuckerman identifies “Crossing the Stream” as a standout example of Johnson’s work. Tuckerman notes the work has “simple, natural, yet infinitely suggestive themes… treated with remarkable skill and meaning. Expression is [Johnson’s] forte – not dramatic or historical so much as human expression” In Artists of the Nineteenth Century and Their Works, Clara Erskine Clement and Hutton list “Crossing the Stream” as one of several notable examples of Johnson’s early work; a “picture of American domestic life … in which he so decidedly excels.”
Rafael Osona conducts auctions in the American Legion Hall at 21 Washington Street. The auction will begin at 9:30 am, with previews on Thursday and Friday, 10 am to 5 pm.

For additional information, www.rafaelosonaauction.com or 508-228-3942.