Lot 322: Alfred Bryan Wall (American, 1861-1935), "Still

Alfred Bryan Wall (American, 1861-1935), "Still Life with Rye Straw Basket and Apples", oil on canvas, signed lower right, 22 in. x 30 in., period frame. Note : The son of painter Alfred S. Wall and the nephew of William C. Wall, Alfred Bryan Wall was a second-generation member of the Scalp Level School, a regional group who painted the Pennsylvania landscape in which they lived and worked. Wall was not formally trained as a painter, but rather learned from his father and uncle. Like most of the Scalp Level School members, he primarily painted landscapes, and was known for his depictions of sheep at pasture, but sometimes also ventured into the territory of portraits or still lifes. His most well-known portraits are of Andrew Carnegie, Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, and Harry Darlington. The painting here depicts a coiled basket constructed from rye straw, as is the tradition brought to Pennsylvania by the German immigrants of the 18th and 19th centuries. Following his father's death, Wall took his place as a member of the Fine Arts Committee of the Carnegie Institute, where he helped select the pieces for the official collection. A friend of Thomas Eakins, Wall was painted by the notable artist in 1904 (portrait now located in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art)."