Still Life with Fruit
1852
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Maria Alice Murphy in memory of her brother Colonel Edward J. Murphy, Jr. and museum purchase through the Director's Discretionary Fund
Accession Number
1981.114
Tags
About this artwork
Severin Roesen's still life celebrates an American harvest and the promise of more to come. The split pomegranate and half-eaten melon carry the seeds of next year's planting, while the glass of champagne invites a quiet moment of appreciation. Roesen was among many Germans who fled their country's political troubles of 1848. They brought with them a level of craftsmanship that found a ready market among Americans whose prosperity matched the natural abundance the artist captured here. These new...