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Notes

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This large painting depicts a famous episode of public repentance. When Samuel Johnson’s father Michael fell ill, he asked Johnson (then in his teenage years) if he would attend to the family bookstall in Uttoxeter market. Johnson refused. In later life, he said, ‘Pride was the source of that refusal, and the remembrance of it was painful. A few years ago I desired to atone for this fault. I went to Uttoxeter in very bad weather and stood for a considerable time bareheaded in the rain on the spot where my father’s stall used to stand. In contrition I stood, and I hope the penance was expiatory.’

Dr Johnson's House

London

Title

Johnson (1709–1784), Doing Penance in the Market Place of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Date

1869

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 152 x W 184 cm

Accession number

155

Work type

Painting

Dr Johnson's House

17 Gough Square, London, Greater London EC4A 3DE England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.

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Artist or maker

Eyre Crowe

1824–1910

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