Provenance

Victor D. Spark

Spark, Victor

American, 1898 - 1991

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A basket of fruit, a plate of baked goods, glass jars, round wooden boxes, and terracotta-red and orange vessels are arranged among gray stone ledges set at different heights that together span the width of this horizontal still life painting. Light falls across the objects from the left, and the background is deeply shadowed, nearly black. Near the top left corner, a woven basket sits on the tallest ledge, almost reaching the top of the composition. It contains dark, plum-purple fruits, a golden loaf of bread in a white wrapper, and several translucent, glistening pieces of fruit in shades of brown and gold. Several long, garnet-red, finger-like objects are tucked among the fruit, and a braided white ring is propped in front. A ledge below this one starts in the lower left corner and spans just over half the width of the composition. Three terracotta vessels, a round, wooden box with its lid propped on its side, and a pewter-silver dish loaded with figs and baked sweets are arranged along the plinth, seeming close to us. Two long, fawn-brown, finger-like objects, perhaps more pastries, are tucked between the wooden box and a terracotta bowl. On the pewter dish, some of the pastries are round like doughnuts and sprinkled with white sugar, some curve in S-shapes, and at least one is long and straight. The third ledge extends from the center of the composition off the right edge, and it is situated behind the pewter dish and alongside the ledge with the basket. To the left on that ledge and at the center of the composition, a tall, rust-red vessel has a hollow center, creating a ring with a flaring foot. It has handles on the shoulders near the tall neck and spout. Shell shapes adorn the perimeter of the hollow center. A glass bowl filled with clear liquid and a round, glass jar filled with a red food, perhaps preserves, sit nearby. The jar sits in front of a translucent glass carafe, which is also tucked behind a stack of two round, lidded boxes, the one on top smaller than the one beneath. Another jar filled with cherry-red fruit sits atop the smaller box. The jars are sealed with twists of paper. The artist signed and dated the work as if he had inscribed the front face of the ledge near the lower right, “Juan vanderHamen i Leon fat 1627.”
Juan van der Hamen y León, Still Life with Sweets and Pottery, 1627, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.75

Still Life with Sweets and Pottery

Juan van der Hamen y León · 1627 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.9.75

This is a painting of a woman reaching to pick a water lily from a pond. She is crouching atop a fallen log, leaning over to submerge her right hand in the water. She wears a long gray dress with a striped, brown cloth in the front like an apron, with a white cloth tied around her neck. She has pale skin and dark brown hair tied in an updo. As her face is pointed downward towards the water, her facial features are mostly obscured. In her left hand, she holds a cluster of other water lilies. The water surrounding the log is speckled with lily pads, more white lilies, and tall reeds. The water is mostly brown, with the reflection of the woman and the reflection of a blue sky at the bottom of the painting, although we can't see the sky itself. In the background, dark green plants and foliage surround the edge of the pond.
Eastman Johnson, Gathering Lilies, 1865, oil on board, Paul Mellon Fund and Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr. in Memory of Margaret and Raymond Horowitz , 2008.66.3

Gathering Lilies

Eastman Johnson · 1865 · oil on board ·  Accession ID  2008.66.3

A young woman plays a small pipe organ while a winged angel holds up a piece of sheet music in this horizontal painting. A strong light source illuminates the scene from our right, creating deep shadows in the dark background. Both the woman and angel have pale skin, flushed cheeks, and light brown hair. Shown from the knees up and taking up the left half of the painting, the woman’s body is angled to our right as she sits at the organ, which is near the right edge of the composition. Her hair is pulled back into a braid, and wisps fall on her forehead. Her skin is smooth, and her head tilts down toward the organ. Her cherry-red dress has a squared neckline and olive-green sleeves over a white shirt. The voluminous sleeves are pushed back over her forearms as she rests her fingertips on the keys of the organ. Gazing toward the woman, the angel has short, curly hair, silvery gray wings, and wears a topaz-blue garment. Two lines of music on the paper the angel holds have notes written in and one staff is empty. The small organ is angled away from us so we see one narrow end and the row of low pipes along its back. The dark brown background lightens behind the young woman’s head.
Orazio Gentileschi, Giovanni Lanfranco, Saint Cecilia and an Angel, c. 1617/1618 and c. 1621/1627, oil on canvas, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.73

Saint Cecilia and an Angel

Orazio Gentileschi, Giovanni Lanfranco · c. 1617/1618 and c. 1621/1627 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1961.9.73

Twigs of a magnolia tree with light green, glossy leaves and three cream-white blossoms lie on a sapphire-blue cloth in this horizontal still life painting. Brightly lit from our left, the blossoms and leaves nearly fill the composition, and the cut ends lie on the fabric to our right. The blue fabric cascades from the upper left and across the table or ledge. The three flowers are in various stages of bloom. The tightest bud is to our left, overlapped by a stem and the tender, unfurling leaves of a branch. The blossom next to it, at the center, is starting to open. The petals of the third blossom, to our right, splay open around the flower’s oval-shaped stamen. Light glints off the waxy leaves surrounding the flowers. The tawny-brown underside of one leaf is visible where it turns over, near the cut ends of the branches. Light shimmering on the fabric darkens from bright blue to our right, to deep royal blue in the shadows to the upper left, suggesting the fabric is velvet. The background is streaked with tan and pine green behind the fabric, and becomes nearly black in the shadows of the upper right corner and along the bottom edge. The artist signed the lower right corner, "MJ. Heade."
Martin Johnson Heade, Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth, c. 1890, oil on canvas, Gift of The Circle of the National Gallery of Art in Commemoration of its 10th Anniversary, 1996.14.1

Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth

Martin Johnson Heade · c. 1890 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1996.14.1

A crusty piece of bread, a short glass of water, a black top hat, a pink conch shell, more than a dozen books, and papers are crammed into an arched alcove in this nearly square still life painting. Lining the bottom edge of the alcove, the long, thin spine of a brown book is printed with the title, “CHOICE CRITICISM ON THE EXHIBITIONS AT PHILADELPHIA” in gold against a red background. To our right, a red portfolio holds a sheaf of loose papers under a thick book titled “LIVES OF THE PAINTERS.” A crusty hunk of bread and a black-handled knife sit on a ceramic plate on the thick book. To our left, two calling cards with handwritten notes lean on the short glass of water. Both are addressed to “Palette” and one is an invitation to visit after tea and other asks about a debt of five dollars. The glass holds open the pages of a book propped against the niche, and the title page reads, “ADVANTAGES OF POVERTY THIRD PART.” The title of a second book behind the glass, missing its cover, reads, “PLEASURES OF HOPE,” though the page is ripped through the word “hope.” The light green, brown, or red spines of a row of books behind this, along the back of the niche, are titled, from left to right: “CHEYENE ON VEGETABLE DIET,” then “MISERIES OF LIFE” to our left, and “BURTONS ANATOMY OF MELANCOL” and “SIGNS OF THE TIMES” near the center. One of the two spines in shadow to our right reads “CALAMITIES OF AUTHOR.” A protractor tucked into a small notebook with a gray cover and red edges leans on the books near the center. More books are piled on top. Three of those spines are written in cursive handwriting with “Unpaid Bills,” “We Fly by Night,” and “No Son No Supper.” The conch shell sits along the edges of the standing books below to our left, with its gleaming rosy pink and golden tan interior facing us. A tightly rolled sheaf of papers wrapped with a sky-blue sheet rests diagonally from the upper left corner of the niche down behind the bread. What looks like a newspaper clipping is tied at the center with the headline “Just Published.” A tattered black top hat is wedged between the tightly rolled paper and loose, curling papers stacked above. One of the loose sheets is titled “LAUGHING PHILOSOPHER” and handwriting on another reads, “Perspective view of the County Gaot of Philadelphia.” Another newspaper clipping is affixed to the upper left face of the beige-colored stone niche. It has the headline, “SHERIFF’S SALE THE PROPERTY OF THE ARTIST,” and continues, “Consisting of One Cradle, One Blanket, Two pair of Ruffles, Petticoat, Silk Stockings, and Peck of Potatoes. Four Pictures, of Roast Pigs, Turkies Decanters of Wine and Plumb Cake Painted from Recollection. Fall of the Giants, and View of Paradise, sixteen feet by twenty. Comforts of Matrimony, odd volume. Short Cut to Wealth. Sermon on The Vanity of Human Pursuits. Philadelphia Jan 1st 1812.”
Charles Bird King, Poor Artist's Cupboard, c. 1815, oil on wood, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund and exchange, 1955), 2014.79.24

Poor Artist's Cupboard

Charles Bird King · c. 1815 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.79.24

Fitz Henry Lane, Brace's Rock, Eastern Point, Gloucester, c. 1864, oil on canvas, John Wilmerding Collection, 2025.89.14

Brace's Rock, Eastern Point, Gloucester

Fitz Henry Lane · c. 1864 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2025.89.14

The painting depicts four boys, sitting or leaning against boxes, a wooden platform, and a stone wall. The boy on the left is sitting on the wooden platform, leaning back with his legs crossed, and wearing a blue shirt, brown pants, and a wide-brimmed hat. Next to him, standing on the same platform and sitting on stacked boxes, are two of the other boys. One of these boys is wearing light-colored trousers and a buttoned-up vest underneath a light-colored jacket. The other boy stands slightly behind him, dressed in a red shirt, a dark vest, and a dark jacket, with a brown hat. The last boy, standing to the right and leaning against a low stone wall, is wearing dark-blue trousers, a brown jacket, and a wide-brimmed straw hat. All of the boys have brown skin and short, dark hair. The background showcases a bustling harbor scene with numerous docked sailing ships, buildings, and equipment, all under a pale gray sky.
David Norslup, Negro Boys on the Quayside, c. 1865, oil on wood, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund and William A. Clark Fund, 1960), 2014.136.80

Negro Boys on the Quayside

David Norslup · c. 1865 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.136.80

The image is a drawing of a person standing. The individual has one arm raised in front of them, and the other arm is holding a staff upright. The person's facial features include a prominent nose, closed eyes, and a long beard. Their hair is wavy and flows around their face. They are dressed in loose, flowing robes that drape around their body, reaching down to their feet, leaving their toes visible. The background is minimal, with sketching around the person, including a serpent-entwined staff on the left side. The drawing is monochrome with varying shades, and there is a scribbled design in the top right corner.
Robert Walter Weir, Aaron Converting His Staff into a Serpent, c. 1860s, ink and graphite with gouache on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Membership Association Fund, 1950), 2015.19.725

Aaron Converting His Staff into a Serpent

Robert Walter Weir · c. 1860s · ink and graphite with gouache on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.725

The image shows a landscape with buildings, water, hills, and trees. The viewpoint is elevated, providing a wide view of the scene. Various details such as trees, buildings, and the water are depicted with different brushstrokes. The color scheme is mostly muted, with shades of gray and sepia dominating the image. The foreground includes grass, rocks, and trees, leading towards buildings and a large body of water. In the distance, hills, trees, and structures can be seen against the horizon.
Alvan Fisher, Study for "View of Springfield on the Connecticut River", c. 1819, graphite with gray wash on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Membership Association Fund, 1948), 2015.19.563

Study for "View of Springfield on the Connecticut River"

Alvan Fisher · c. 1819 · graphite with gray wash on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.563

The image shows a view from a slightly elevated position across a river towards a distant waterfall and surrounding landscape. The horizon is high, meeting the tree line across the upper third of the image. The waterfall cascades over a rocky ledge, with structures nearby. The artwork uses a light and delicate brushstroke technique, depicting details with fine lines typical of pencil or graphite sketches. The color palette is monochrome, utilizing shades of grey to represent the natural elements. Close to us is a patch of land with low shrubbery and vegetation. In the background, there are dense forests providing a textured contrast to the water surface.
Homer Dodge Martin, Hudson River, 1860, graphite on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Membership Association Fund, 1949), 2015.19.605

Hudson River

Homer Dodge Martin · 1860 · graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.605