Fruit in Glass Compote

Dateca. 1890

Attributed to Emma Jane Cady (1854 - 1933)

MediumWatercolor and mica flakes on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary support: 15 7/8 x 19 3/4in. (40.3 x 50.2cm) and Framed: 18 1/4 x 22in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.303.1

DescriptionA footed, glass compote supports a peach, a pear, a bunch of dark blue-black grapes, a plum, and two cherries, the last dangling from the stem of the pear. The compote sets atop a marble slab. The compote is shaded in gray, with the lip and foot outlined in gold. Mica flakes glued to the paper within the outline of the compote suggest a crystalline quality. Scattered on the slab around the foot of the compote are an apple, three cherries, half a pear, a peach, and a sprig of blackberries.
The 1 3/4-inch molded, gilded frame is possibly original.
Label TextRich colors and crisp stenciling capture well the austere beauty of these inanimate objects. The white background and the soft gray marbleized tabletop intensify the contrasting jewel-like tones of the purple grapes, berries, and plum, and the yellow-orange of the peaches.
The artist capably created a sense of spatial recession, which is particularly noticeable in the blackberries and in the apple at far right. An effectual use of applied mica flakes provided a workable solution to the difficulties of painting the highly reflective surface of the glass compote. The expert modeling and shading of the fruit endow the composition with a realism seldom found in theorem painting.
Emma Cady's only known signed picture is dated 1890, a composition of two doves executed for her brother and sister-in-law on the birth of their first son. Other still life pictures that are compositionally very similar to this one but that appear to be by different hands suggest the design's popularity.
MarkingsA partial blind stamp in the upper left corner reads "[missing]OLDS'S/[missing]OLDBOARD," the text encircling an image of a crown.
N. B. The stamp should be re-examined when the work is next unframed, since the above does not agree precisely with Elizabeth Hollyday's (paper conservator's) transcription made in April 1978.
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrel George Thomas, Sheffield, Mass. Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAM's vendor.