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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Catalogue Entry

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Hillside, ca. 1889–95 (P.913). Verso: P.913, Hillside.
Verso: P.913, Hillside.
Keywords
P.913
Hillside
Alternate title: The Hillside
ca. 1889–95
Pastel on paper laid down on board
15 x 18 in. (38.1 x 45.7 cm)
Signed lower right: J. H. Twachtman–
Private collection
Exhibitions
1942–I Babcock
Babcock Galleries, New York, Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels by John H. Twachtman, February 9–28, 1942, no. 19, as Hillside.
2006 Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio)
Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, American Impressionism: Variations on a Theme, February 3–June 4, 2006, p. 19 ill. in color, as Hillside.
Literature
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. 528 (catalogue G, no. 960), as Hillside. (Hale concordance).
Parke-Bernet 1960
American and Other Modern Art: Paintings and Drawings. Auction catalogue, February 18, 1960. New York: Parke-Bernet, 1960, lot 71, as The Hillside.
Commentary

Twachtman had begun to render wildflowers in pastel by 1889. One included in the exhibition that year at the Society of Painters in Pastels was described by a critic for the Magazine of Art as “a nicely composed impression, with tall flowers placed as accents in a bit of landscape.”[1] This commentary is suggestive of this pastel where the wildflowers are not the main motif, but instead are incorporated into the S-curve movement that gives unity to the disparate elements in the scene. 

The pastel belonged to the Baker family of Boston. As labels on the reverse indicate (fig. 1), members of the family lent it to the University Club of Boston (founded 1891) and to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The pastel was purchased in 1943 by Alfred H. Holbrook (the founder of the Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, which opened in 1948) but left his collection a year later. It resurfaced again at Parke-Bernet, New York, in 1960.

[1] Magazine of Art 1889.