Lot 90: Still Life with Apples and Grapes

James Peale (1749-1831)
Still Life with Apples and Grapes
oil on canvas
16 x 22 in. (40.6 x 55.9 cm.)

James Peale first exhibited still life subjects at the Columbianum in 1795. According to Linda Crocker Simmons, "The works exhibited document the birth of the still-life tradition in America; [James and his nephew Raphaelle] were to be the principal practitioners of this art form for many decades to come." (L.B. Miller, ed., The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy 1770-1870 , Washington, D.C., 1996, p. 217) Although Peale continued to paint still-lifes he did not exhibit them again until 1828. This may be because he did not want to take critical attention away from his nephew, as "His fruit pieces, lush evocations of the earth's abundance, won a popularity denied to Raphaelle Peale's stark, intense compositions." ( Four Generations of Commissions: The Peale Collection of the Maryland Historical Society , Baltimore, Maryland, 1975, p. 33)

Peale's still lifes can be separated into two basic groups, those painted up to the early 1820s and those from the years before his death. "All are characterized by common elements of lighting, grouping of objects on a table or ledge, and the use of a limited selection of objects--fruit, vegetables, branches, foliage, flowers, flatware, and containers...The lighting is similar in both early and later works, usually coming from two sources and thus illuminating one side--the left--from above and in front, and the right side with a strong glow behind the objects, setting them off against the background space...earlier works show a tight control of brushstroke, a sharpness of focus, and a palette dominated by primary colors...His depictions of natural objects seems to be based on direct observation and a perception of their interrelationships over time, not the geometry of their forms. Visual examination informs his hand in the depiction of the items before him, and his awareness of the passage of time is evident." ( The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy 1770-1870 , p. 218)