Still Life with Oranges

Raphaelle Peale was the first American artist to specialize in still life paintings, laying the foundation for later artists such as William Harnett (see Still Life with the Toledo Blade, Gallery 29B). The simple arrangement and realistic description of textures and light make this humble collection of food and drink a feast for the eyes. Peale inscribed this painting to important South Carolina collector John A. Alston, “The Patron of Living American Artists,” and playfully included a spiraling orange peel as a punning “signature.”

Peale came from a distinguished family of artists. His father, painter Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), established the first art gallery in the United States in 1782 and named several of his many sons and daughters for famous painters in the hopes that they would pursue art. Some did, including Raphaelle, Rembrandt, Titian, and Angelica Kauffmann Peale.