John Henry Twachtman Catalogue Raisonné
An online catalogue by Lisa N. Peters, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Greenwich Historical Society
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Keywords
OP.818
Barn on the Hill
Alternate title: Farmhouse
ca. 1888
Oil on canvas
13 x 18 5/8 in. (33 x 47.2 cm)
Signed lower left: J. H. Twachtman–
Private collection
Exhibitions
1889–I Fifth Avenue Art Galleries probably
Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, Paintings in Oil and Pastel by J. Alden Weir and J. H. Twachtman, February 1–7, 1889, no. 78, as Barn on the Hill, 13 1/2 x 18 in.
Literature
Sun 1889–II
"Weir and Twachtman Pictures." Sun (New York), February 8, 1889, p. 3, as Barn on the Hill.
Hale 1957
Hale, John Douglass. "Life and Creative Development of John H. Twachtman." 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1957. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1958, vol. 2, p. 430 (catalogue G, no. 45), as Barn on the Hill. (Hale concordance).
Christie's, New York 1981–III
American Paintings of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Auction catalogue, December 11, 1981. New York: Christie's, 1981, lot 109 ill., as Farmhouse.
Commentary

Barn on the Hill is a view of Middlebrook Farm, located on Ridgefield Road in Wilton, Connecticut, four miles south of Julian Alden Weir’s Branchville farm. The same subject can be seen in the larger Middlebrook Farm (OP.819).  Although Barn on the Hill is more sketchlike and smaller, it was clearly not a study for Middlebrook Farm. Here, Twachtman stood much closer to the farmhouse, making it seem accessible, whereas in Middlebrook Farm it is part of the broader landscape, observed from the distance. That Twachtman did not consider this painting a study is also indicated by his decision to sign it. He included it with its current title in the 1889 show and sale of his work and that of Julian Alden Weir, held at the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York (see Exhibitions). According to the New York Sun, the painting was purchased from the show for $60. Its location from that time until 1981, when it was sold at auction, is unknown.