Fruit on a Tray

c. 1840

American 19th Century

Associated Names
American 19th Century

Artist

The image shows a large cut watermelon in a woven basket surrounded by various fruits including grapes, peaches, and small round red fruits. The color palette includes greens, blues, oranges, and browns. The basket takes up most of the space and is filled with fruits, with grape clusters hanging above it.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor on velveteen (theorem painting)

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

  • Dimensions

    overall: 42.6 x 54 cm (16 3/4 x 21 1/4 in.)
    framed: 49.5 x 60.6 x 2.8 cm (19 1/2 x 23 7/8 x 1 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1953.5.104

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from Connecticut. Purchased in 1947 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Fruits of Summer: Nineteenth-Century American Still Life, Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, 2009, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 276, repro., as Fruit Platter, Grapes, Watermelon, Cherries, and Strawberries

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 402, repro.

  • Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 485-486, repro. 486.

Wikidata ID

Q20186648