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Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket

Dozens of figures in a brown field filled with discarded corn silks form two rows and sit across from each other husking corn, a farm in the background.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Dozens of figures in a brown field filled with discarded corn silks form two rows and sit across from each other husking corn, a farm in the background.

Date:

1876

Artist:

Eastman Johnson (American, 1824–1906)

About this artwork

Eastman Johnson painted this composition in 1876, 100 years after the founding of the United States. The centennial fostered a sense of nostalgia among some residents as industrialization and urban growth rapidly transformed the nation. Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket depicts a seasonal gathering on the rural Massachusetts island. Community members work together to shuck corn and ready the harvest, a traditional activity that was far removed from daily life for many in the late 19th century. Johnson employed a warm palette and loose brushwork to describe this agrarian subject, presenting an uncomplicated vision of cooperation and closeness to the land.

Status

On View, Gallery 161

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Eastman Johnson

Title

Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket

Place

Nantucket Island (Place depicted)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1876

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed recto, bottom-left, in brown pigment: "E. Johnson / 1876".

Dimensions

69.6 × 138.2 cm (27 3/8 × 54 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Honoré and Potter Palmer

Reference Number

1922.444

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/81564/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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