Eastman Johnson (American, 1824-1906)
Fiddling His Way, 1866
Oil on canvas, 24-1/4 x 36-1/4 inches
Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

This is an oil on canvas painting of a black fiddler - a freedman - who performs in the kitchen of a rural white family. The musician, on the left side of the canvas, fiddles, while the family of ten watches. The three young boys are gathered closest to the fiddler, while the mother stands with a laughing infant in her arms, a young girl stands by her right side and yet another young girl site on the floor, across from the musician. Behind the mother, the farmer himself is seated on a box holding something (cup? or pipe?); a grown-up daughter stands with broom in hand behind the farmer, while a older woman scrubs a plate in the background. The kitchen appears dark.

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