The Other Side of Susan Ray's Kitchen - Nantucket 1875

Editor: Eastman Johnson’s 1875 oil painting, "The Other Side of Susan Ray's Kitchen - Nantucket," presents a rather subdued scene. It is a dim, domestic interior. What do you find most interesting about this painting? Curator: Well, consider the materiality itself. The wood paneling, the roughly hewn furniture. It speaks to the labor involved in constructing this space, the lives lived within. What kind of labor produced that lumber, crafted those objects? Was it local, regional, perhaps relying on networks of trade and resource extraction we rarely consider? Editor: That's fascinating. I was focused on the light, but thinking about the labor embedded within the materials is new to me. So, how does that shift your view? Curator: It draws attention to the social context. This isn't just an idyllic scene. It’s a constructed environment reliant on systems of production and consumption. And the composition directs our eyes to every detail made of materials. Notice how light only graces them. Where is the food production itself, and what does that tell us about the place of “women’s work?” Editor: I see what you mean. It invites a much deeper interrogation of daily life in 1875. Do you think Johnson was making a specific commentary? Curator: Perhaps, but it's more powerful to consider how the artwork *itself* functions as a record. Look at the way the paint is applied! We see brushstrokes, the physicality of oil paint rendering the scene. It's not a transparent window; it is made, constructed with intention but equally revealing its own material processes. The sheen on the table begs questions: how many hands built it, cleaned it? Editor: So it’s almost like the painting documents both a physical space *and* the labor connected to it? Curator: Precisely! And by extension, the social relations surrounding its creation and existence. It gives us new eyes into the kitchens, tables, homes and labour involved that shaped lives in Nantucket in 1875. Editor: That really gives me a lot to think about. Thanks so much!