Corn and Cantaloupe

When Peale’s Corn and Cantaloupe was first shown in Philadelphia in 1814, the painting held personal associations for the artist and national symbols for its viewers. The prominently placed corn was not just a local crop, but was also already identified as an icon of early American history and stories. The painting’s array of vegetables and fruit were cultivated on farms and in hothouses near the artist’s family home. The cantaloupe, an Anne Arundel melon, was named after the Maryland County where his mother was born— and where the painting’s first owner lived.