Peonies in a Vase

c. 1885

Charles Ethan Porter

Painter, American, 1847 - 1923

A bouquet of six blousy, frilled, white and pale pink peonies are gathered in a vase in this vertical still-life painting. One more flower lies on the table in front of the vase. The bright, cream-white petals of two open flowers curl back from yellow centers. The petals of other flowers are cupped in dense layers, some petals streaked in dark or blush pink. The roughly oval, green leaves come to points at each end. The straight-sided vase is painted so that it nearly disappears into the fog-gray and soft brown background, but the optics of the water in the clear glass play with the light falling beyond it. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “C.E. Porter.”

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of William and Abigail Gerdts

  • Dimensions

    overall: 45.72 × 40.64 cm (18 × 16 in.)
    framed: 61.6 × 56.52 × 4.45 cm (24 1/4 × 22 1/4 × 1 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    2018.44.124

More About this Artwork

Video:  Is Art for Pleasure or for Politics?

Art historian Rashieda Witter discusses Washington, D.C.-based Black artists throughout history whose work challenged our ideas of what art can be. 

Article:  Who Is Charles Ethan Porter? 7 Things to Know

Porter was the first known professional Black artist to specialize in still lifes, and his paintings were admired by the likes of writer Mark Twain and painter Frederic Edwin Church.


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, Connecticut); purchased 2004 by William H. [1929-2020] and Abigail Booth Gerdts, New York;[1] gift 2018 to NGA.
[1] Per documention from Abigail Booth Gerdts provided with the gift, in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

lower right: C.E. Porter

Wikidata ID

Q58696711


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