Rack Picture for William Malcolm Bunn
John F. Peto
1882
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nathaly Baum in memory of Harry Baum
Accession Number
1973.148
Tags
photographtrompe l'oeilletternewspaper
About this artwork
John F. Peto made this painting for William Malcolm Bunn, a Philadelphia newspaper editor whose photograph, correspondence, and newspaper banner all appear in the image. Most of Peto's patrons were self-made businessmen, and he would often include references to their work in "rack pictures" meant to hang in their offices. X-rays of this canvas show that Peto at one point included the words "V[er]y Truly Yours/Wm Bunn" beneath the painted photographic image of the editor.Peto's paintings are like...