Girl+I+Left+Behind+Me,+The

Date: 1870-1875
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1986/1986.79_1a.jpg?itok=XCTn64Ft width="236" height="284" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/the-girl-i-left-behind-me-11492"]] || Title: **The Girl I Left Behind Me**

Artist: **Eastman Johnson** Born: Lovell, Maine 1824 Died: New York, New York 1906

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 42 x 34 7/8 in. (106.7 x 88.7 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase made possible in part by Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Rice in memory of her husband and by Ralph Cross Johnson

Accession: 1986.79 || Eastman Johnson imagined a soldier's wife standing on the hill where they parted. The crimson lining of her wind-whipped cape suggests their passionate love for one another, while her wedding ring, appearing almost at the center of the painting, ensures the young bride's devotion. Johnson had witnessed the Battle of Manassas in 1862, and the painting's title refers to an old Irish song that became a popular regimental ballad during the Civil War. His viewers might have recalled the lyrics:
 * Exhibition Label: **

My mind her full image retains Whether asleep or awaken'd hope to see my jewel again For her my heart is breaking. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Suggested Questions: **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How would you describe this girl?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How old do you think she is?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How would you describe the mood or feeling of this painting?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How does the artist convey the mood?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">How do the colors contribute to the mood of this painting?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">@Ekphrastic Poetry Lesson
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Resources: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Artist Biography <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Gilded Age (Treasures Book) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Director's Choice <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Song Audio <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Song Info & Lyrics (Wikipedia Article) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">SAAM Collections Page
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Links: **