The Potato Harvest

Description After moving from Paris to the village of Barbizon on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest in 1851, Millet devoted himself to portraying the lives of his neighbors. Some critics interpreted his paintings of working farmers as a critique of the injustices inherent in the social conditions of his time. Others have seen his work as a representation of man's harmonious union with nature.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
2/01/1937	Treatment	cleaned; coated; other
4/10/1975	Treatment	cleaned; repaired; loss compensation; coated; other
2/01/1979	Treatment	re-framed; other
6/14/1983	Treatment	stabilized
2/08/1994	Treatment	re-framed
9/25/1995	Examination	examined for condition
4/12/1999	Examination	examined for condition

Exhibitions

• The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. 1889-1890.
• Exposition Universelle. Paris. 1867.
• Corot and His Contemporaries. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston. 1959.
• Jules Breton and the French Rural Tradition. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. 1982-1983.
• Van Gogh and Millet. Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh, Amsterdam. 1988-1989.
• Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998.
• Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1999-2000.
• Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.
• Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton. 2000-2002.
• A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2002-2004.
• The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Manet. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2004-2005.
• In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet. National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston. 2008-2009.
• 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. 2010-2011.

Provenance Papeleu, prior to 1863 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Baron Goethals, prior to 1867 [mode of acquisition unknown]; William T. Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1878 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] In black on lower right: J. F. Millet

Credit Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1878