Asparagus, Tomatoes, and a Squash

1865

Paul Lacroix

Associated Names
Paul Lacroix

Painter, American, 1827 - 1869

This painting shows a bundle of asparagus tied with a brown string, with two red tomatoes in front of it and a green melon in the background. The asparagus bundle is in the center, the dark green spears pointing to the upper right corner and the lighter, jagged ends pointing towards the bottom left. The shiny red tomatoes are in front, on the lower right, and the melon is behind the asparagus on the left, with vertical stripes of light and dark green and a short vine curling from the top. To the right of the vegetables is a thin curling vine with wide leaves. The objects are placed on a gray surface, and the wall behind them is a gradient of brown, lighter on the right and darker on the left.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of William and Abigail Gerdts

  • Dimensions

    overall: 34.29 × 41.28 cm (13 1/2 × 16 1/4 in.)
    framed: 47.63 × 57.79 × 10.16 cm (18 3/4 × 22 3/4 × 4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2018.44.14

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Edwin D. Morgan, [1811-1883], New York; probably (his estate sale, Chickering Hall, New York, January 1886, no. 8).[1] William H. Gerdts [1929-2020], New York, by at least 1965;[2] gift 2018 to NGA.
[1] Per documention from Abigail Booth Gerdts provided with gift, in NGA curatorial files.
[2] Gerdts lent the painting to a circa 1965 exhibition at the American Federation of the Arts in New York; per documentation provided by Abigail Booth Gerdts, in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • [Still lifes of edible subjects from the collection of William H. Gerdts, on occasion of publication of cookbook by William and Lois Katzenbach], Board Room, American Federation of the Arts, New York, c. 1965, no catalogue, label no. 13.

1966

  • Mid-Nineteenth Century American Painting from the Collections of Henry M. Fuller and William H. Gerdts, Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville, 1966, no. 37, repro.

1976

  • American Cornucopia: 19th Century Still Lifes and Studies, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 1976, no. 31, repro.

1981

  • Painters of the Humble Truth: Masterpieces of American Still Life, 1801 – 1939, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa; Oakland Art Museum; Baltimore Museum of Art; National Academy of Design, New York, 1981-1982, no. 5.15.

1998

  • For Beauty and For Truth: The William and Abigail Gerdts Collection of American Still Life, Mead Art Museum, Amherst; Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, 1998, plate 13.

Bibliography

1971

  • Gerdts, William H., and Russell Burke. American Still-Life Painting. New York, 1971: 60, 67, pl. VIII.

1994

  • Smith, Andrew F. The Tomato is America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery. Columbia, SC, 1994: 195.

Inscriptions

lower left: P. Lacroix, N.Y. 65

Wikidata ID

Q63119558

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