Fruits of Autumn

As a member of the renowned Peale family of artists and regarded as a pioneer of the American still-life tradition, James Peale holds an important place in history for his realistic trompe l'oeil paintings, portraits and miniatures. Trained by his highly regarded older brother, Charles Willson Peale, James Peale began his painting career after serving in the Revolutionary War and settling in Philadelphia in 1782. 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)

Indeed, as demonstrated in Fruits of Autumn—painted circa 1825-27—James Peale's "lush evocations of the earth's abundance won a popularity denied to Raphaelle Peale's stark, intense compositions." (E.G. Holland, S.T. Colwill, K.B. Whiting-Young, Four Generations of Commissions: The Peale Collection of the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland, 1975, p. 33). Simmons notes, “His depictions of natural objects seem 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). Peale explored this theme in other important works such as Apples & Grapes in a Pierced Bowl (1823-25, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

The first known owner of the present work, Juliana Force, was a museum administrator and the first director of what would eventually become the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.