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Still Life with Fruit Basket

Charles Ethan Porter

American Art

Charles Ethan Porter was a leading nineteenth-century African American still-life painter. He was one of the first African Americans trained at the prestigious National Academy of Design in New York, from 1869 to 1873.

This work exhibits the earthy palette and visible brushwork that were coming into vogue to replace a more detailed and finished midcentury aesthetic, as seen in the nearby painting by George Henry Hall.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
DATES 1878
DIMENSIONS 16 x 24 in. (40.6 x 61 cm) frame: 23 1/2 x 31 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. (59.7 x 79.7 x 8.9 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 2020.13.2
CREDIT LINE Gift of Charlynn and Warren Goins
PROVENANCE Prior to 2011, provenance not yet documented; by October 2011, acquired by Charlynn and Warren Goins of New York, NY; between October 20, 2011 and October 20, 2020, gift of Charlynn and Warren Goins to the Brooklyn Museum.
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MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Charles Ethan Porter (American, 1847–1923). Still Life with Fruit Basket, 1878. Oil on canvas, 16 x 24 in. (40.6 x 61 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charlynn and Warren Goins, 2020.13.2 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, L2011.4.2_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)
IMAGE detail, Image courtesy of Gavin Ashworth, L2011.4.2_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
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Charles Ethan Porter (American, 1847–1923). <em>Still Life with Fruit Basket</em>, 1878. Oil on canvas, 16 x 24 in. (40.6 x 61 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Charlynn and Warren Goins, 2020.13.2 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, L2011.4.2_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)