Nude with Fruit
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie Clifford Barney in memory of their mother, Alice Pike Barney
Accession Number
1951.14.82
Tags
Art Historical Context
Alice Pike Barney’s “Nude with Fruit” presents a waist-length female figure rendered in the intimate medium of drawing. The simple inclusion of an apple introduces a quiet symbolic note, linking the work to long-standing artistic traditions that associate fruit with themes of knowledge and human experience. Because the work is a drawing rather than a painting, viewers can sense the directness of Barney’s hand, where line and subtle shading define both form and mood. The piece entered the Smithsonian American Art Museum through a gift from Barney’s daughters, Laura Dreyfus Barney and Natalie C...