brooklynmuseum:This painting’s title, Not At Home, may seem strange, since there is clearly so
brooklynmuseum:This painting’s title, Not At Home, may seem strange, since there is clearly someone on the stairs. In the past, however, this phrase indicated that the occupants of the house were not available to receive visitors. The painting held a particularly personal meaning for the artist, Eastman Johnson: the woman on the stairs is his wife, Elizabeth, on her way to the more private areas of their residence on Manhattan’s West Fifty-fifth Street. While the holidays can bring a schedule full of friends and family, it’s also important to appreciate—especially this year—the intimate spaces where we can rest, relax, and be “not at home.”In the final weeks of 2020, we’re taking time to find comfort, hope, and healing with artworks in the Museum’s collection. Posted by Forrest PelsueEastman Johnson (American, 1824-1906). Not at Home, ca. 1873. Oil on laminated paperboard. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Gwendolyn O. L. Conkling, 40.60 -- source link