#Curate This: Day Two
In 1862 Eastman Johnson, American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, followed the Army of the Potomac into northern Virginia, seeking subjects for his art. Johnson took great care to record that he was a witness to this particular event, affixing a note that remains on the reverse of the painting and reads in part: “A veritable incident in the civil war seen by myself at Centerville.” Whole elements of the suspenseful atmosphere, such as the dark fog punctuated by the early dawn light, may have been the artist’s embellishment. The family’s fearful but determined flight presents a powerful illustration of the overwhelming desire for freedom that motivated many throughout the South to escape bondage despite the risk of great peril.