Eastman Johnson, "The Pension Claim Agent"

"The Pension Claim Agent" by Eastman Johnson

"In 1867, two years after the end of the Civil War, Eastman Johnson created a highly powerful work with 'The Pension Claim Agent.' In confronting the postwar existence of the tens of thousands of disabled veterans, he produced the most beautifully painted work of his career thus far. The painting was praised both for its subject and for its treatment, with 'grouping of the most natural kind, the drawing admirable for its truth and force and action without recourse to melodrama.'

The incident represented by Johnson was readily legible to his audience as the visit of a traveling pension agent charged with the firsthand verification of disabilities. Equally clear was the subtext of the young man's loyalty to the Union on which his eligibility for benefits was founded. While the undeniable focus of the painting is the veteran's amputated leg, Johnson offered a subtle diversion in his articulation of light on the turned heads and poised hands.

For all the enthusiasm with which it was critically received, 'The Pension Claim Agent' remained unsold for some time. It was purchased by the wealthy flour merchant Josiah Fiske by 1876 and was sold a second time to the leading collector Thomas B. Clarke by 1892. The painting nevertheless won Johnson new esteem, and at least temporarily the designation of 'the most progressive of American artists.'"

To be continued

 

(Excerpts from "Eastman Johnson: Painting America" by Teresa Carbone and Patricia Hills.)