Peaches and Grapes in a Chinese Export Basket

Peale hailed from a family of distinguished Philadelphia artists highly regarded as skilled portraitists. However, he developed an affinity for still-life painting and despite his father’s initial disapproval, persevered to establish the tradition in America. Peaches and Grapes in a Chinese Export Basket, one of his earliest signed and dated paintings, is likely among the group of still lifes that garnered critical acclaim at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1814.