Glass Bowl with Fruit

Dateca. 1865

MediumWatercolor, ink, and mica flakes on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Support: 18 x 14 1/16in. (45.7 x 35.7cm) and Framed: 20 5/8 x 16 5/8in.

Credit LineFrom the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Collection; Gift of David Rockefeller

Object number1932.303.1

DescriptionComposition of fruit in a crystal compote on a marble base. Mica flakes used to give texture and sparkle to the bowl, which is outlined in brown and shaded in grey. Bowl is irregular in shape. Marble base is done with pencil lines and light colored smudges of color. Fruit in picture includes two apples, pear and plum as well as cherries; an apple with leaf appears at left of compote, a sliced pear at right. Artist unidentified.
The 1 3/4-inch molded and gilded frame is a period replacement.
Label TextTransparent washes of pale hues and the dominant white of the primary support combine with widely-spaced compositional elements to create a light, airy feel that contrasts markedly with the dark colors and crowded components typically used to interpret the theme of abundance in mid-nineteenth-century still life pictures.
Numerous examples of this composition have been recorded, perhaps signifying the availability of a pre-cut stencil kit or a particularly long-lived classroom exercise.
MarkingsTwo watermarks (one on either side) read: "J. WHATMAN/1858".
A blind stamp at upper left is partially legible; it consists of a circle bordered by a wreath of entwined leaves, a rearing griffin beside a shield (possibly that of St. George) and, beneath it, the words: "[illeg.]SUP[ER]FINE/[illeg.]/BOARD". A possible inscription on the banner beneath the shield is illegible.
ProvenanceHolger Cahill's reaction to finding this work in "a bookstore . . . patronized by Yale students" is well documented in his "Reminiscences" (see "Bibliography"). Cahill was a partner in Edith Gregor Halpert's American Folk Art Gallery in New York, NY, and Halpert recorded the work as "found in New Haven, Conn." Later, in a 15 June 1955 statement to AARFAM's then-director Mitch Wilder, Halpert made no mention of Cahill, claiming that she herself had "purchased this in a book shop in New Haven in 1931." Her records give her source's name as "Whitlocks" and note that the piece was found on 30 April 1931. [See Wendy Jeffers to CWF, 5/12/2009].
The piece was purchased from Halpert by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in 1932; given to the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, by Rockefeller in 1939; transferred from the MoMA to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, in 1949; purchased from the Metropolitan Museum of Art by David Rockefeller and given by him to CWF in 1955.