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Babcock Galleries

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Several pieces of fruit, a bunch of green grapes, a stem of raisins, and several types of nuts in their shells are piled on a putty-brown tabletop or ledge with rounded corners against a dark background in this horizontal still life painting. The food is brightly lit from the front, and we look slightly down onto the table. There are two round red apples and two pieces of small yellow fruit, perhaps quinces, flanking a golden yellow pear at the back center. The bunch of grapes drapes over the fruit to our right and the raisins lie between the apples. Thirteen walnuts, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and perhaps a brazil nut are scattered in a loose band in front of the fruit. The surface on which the still life sits becomes swallowed in shadow behind the fruit, and blends into the dark brown background. The artist signed and dated the work in dark paint in the lower right corner, almost lost in shadow under the ledge: “R.S. Duncanson 1848.”
Robert Seldon Duncanson, Still Life with Fruit and Nuts, 1848, oil on board, Gift of Ann and Mark Kington/The Kington Foundation and the Avalon Fund, 2011.98.1

Still Life with Fruit and Nuts

Robert Seldon Duncanson · 1848 · oil on board ·  Accession ID  2011.98.1

Amethyst-purple mountains and clouds against a slightly lighter, lavender-purple sky loom over a strip of land painted as bands of brick red and royal blue in this abstracted, horizontal landscape painting. One tall peak with a flattened top rises in front of a few more lower, rounded peaks to our right. Round clouds, like cotton balls, in the same amethyst-purple of the mountains, float against the lighter purple sky. The sky, clouds, and mountains are painted with areas of mottled purple over a red underlayer, all outlined in lapis blue. The horizon line created by the strip of deep red land comes about halfway up the composition. There is a pair of green trees with triangular canopies at the water’s edge near the center of the red band. A few touches of forest-green nearby suggest more trees or bushes. The red band is streaked vertically with visible brushstrokes in flame, ruby, and burgundy red. Along the bottom edge of the painting, the land curves toward us near the lower left corner, around a field painted with horizontal streaks of cobalt and navy blue with a few thin, white lines to suggest ripples. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner: “M.H. 42.”
Marsden Hartley, Mount Katahdin, Maine, 1942, oil on hardboard, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Byers, 1970.27.1

Mount Katahdin, Maine

Marsden Hartley · 1942 · oil on hardboard ·  Accession ID  1970.27.1

The sculpture depicts two human figures engaged in an embrace. The figures are rendered realistically with detailed anatomical features. The sculpture is a rich, brownish color, possibly made of bronze or a similar metal. The surface is smooth yet textured, with polished areas and subtle details. The composition emphasizes the connection and closeness between the figures, highlighting their physical proximity and complementary forms.
Käthe Kollwitz, The Lovers, model 1913, cast posthumously c. 1955, bronze, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. S. Lifschutz, 1994.33.1

The Lovers

Käthe Kollwitz · model 1913, cast posthumously c. 1955 · bronze ·  Accession ID  1994.33.1

The image shows a sculpture with abstract interlocking geometric shapes and curves. It appears to be drawn in charcoal or pencil on paper in black and white. The central component is a spherical shape within a rigid, angular framework. The sketch uses heavy, dark strokes for shadows and depth, creating contrast and volume. Varied linework and shading suggest texture and dimensionality, highlighting the diverse design of the object.
Seymour Lipton, Study for "Loom", 1965, black conté crayon on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Estate of Seymour Lipton, 1991), 2015.19.2964

Study for "Loom"

Seymour Lipton · 1965 · black conté crayon on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.2964

The image displays an array of dark lines and oval shapes intersecting at various angles, creating an abstract composition. The overlapping shapes create a visually complex arrangement with smaller pointed forms. The bold lines and shading give the shapes a sculptural feel.
Seymour Lipton, Untitled, 1976, black conté crayon on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Estate of Seymour Lipton, 1991), 2015.19.2963

Untitled

Seymour Lipton · 1976 · black conté crayon on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.2963

Jules Bastien-Lepage, Simon Hayem, 1875, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.1

Simon Hayem

Jules Bastien-Lepage · 1875 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.1

This abstract image contains a combination of angular and curved lines intersecting on the canvas. There are shapes resembling facial features and a figure that resembles a person or animal. The fragmented forms in shades of gray, black, green, and pink are surrounded by a blue frame, creating a complex composition.
Alfred H. Maurer, Two Heads, c. 1929, gouache and graphite on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, 1968), 2015.19.1572

Two Heads

Alfred H. Maurer · c. 1929 · gouache and graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.1572

This vertical canvas is filled with geometric shapes that create patterns in red, blue, yellow, green, black, and white in this abstract painting. The paint is applied with visible brushstrokes, giving some areas a mottled look. Some of the patterns seem to revolve around a red circle near the top center. The circle has a black cross like a plus sign on a white field at its center, and a white band around its perimeter is outlined in black. A blue and white checkered band curves up over the red circle to our left while a banner-like form of alternating, wavy yellow and black lines cascade down to the right of the circle. Horizontal bands of red, white, and black extend across the canvas behind the circle. Below the circle, a blue panel with a curly, cursive red “E” is flanked to the left with a red and white checkerboard, then alternating, almost vertical lines of blue and white. The red number “4” appears on a yellow field at the bottom center of the work, and is flanked by rectangular forms and alternating bands of color to either side.
Marsden Hartley, Berlin Abstraction, 1914/1915, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund, 1967), 2014.79.21

Berlin Abstraction

Marsden Hartley · 1914/1915 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.79.21

This painting shows a person seated on a stool or chair, wearing a long, dark-blue robe or gown. They are slightly turned toward the right, looking downward at something they hold in their hands, and their head is covered with a cloth or cap. The background is textured with earthy tones, mostly tan with some patches of yellow ochre and gray.
Thomas Eakins, The Chaperone, c. 1908, oil on canvas, Gift of John Wilmerding, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.34.1

The Chaperone

Thomas Eakins · c. 1908 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1991.34.1

On the brick pavement of a sunny veranda, a young toddler leans heavily on her right arm, to our left, as she reaches for a wooden block in this horizontal painting. Much of her face is cast in deep shadow from the bright light overhead, but light brushes the tops of her cheeks and the tip of her nose. She grips a wooden block with her left hand, closer to us. Her left leg stretches to our right in a stocking striped with vivid red and white. Light glints off the shiny material of her black, round-toed slipper. She has short, golden-brown hair, and her white smock is richly embroidered in a pattern of white-one-white with alternating linked loops. Scattered before her, at arms-length, are seven other alphabet blocks lettered in gray with red and tan faces, several wooden building blocks, and a ball of red yarn. A doll in a black dress lies with limbs akimbo, face-down by a potted plant at the right edge of the canvas. A red wagon drawn by white toy horse sits near the left edge. The scene is enclosed with a deep, emerald-green hedge stretching across the background. The artist signed and dated this work as if he had inscribed two of the bricks on the patio with red paint in cursive script, in the lower right corner: “Eakins 76.”
Thomas Eakins, Baby at Play, 1876, oil on canvas, John Hay Whitney Collection, 1982.76.5

Baby at Play

Thomas Eakins · 1876 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1982.76.5