Painting (Still life)

Description

Mary Jane Peale was born in New York, where her father Rubens ran the Peale's New-York Museum. The family moved to Pennsylvania, where she learned to paint from her uncle Rembrandt. While in Philadelphia, she studied with Thomas Sully, attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and received encouragement from her cousin Sarah Miriam. With its simple subject laid on a bare table and its attention to light and dark contrasts, Still Life with Fruit recalls the earlier work by her uncle Raphaelle and great-uncle James. Mary Jane traveled to France, Switzerland, and Italy, among other places, and was among the last of the third generation Peale family to paint professionally.