Still Life (Ducks and Snipe), ca. 1840
Charles Fraser (American, 1782 – 1860)
Oil on canvas; 30 x 25 inches
Gibbes Museum of Art, Museum Purchase (1924.003.0004)
The majority of the still life paintings exhibited in Charles Fraser’s first retrospective exhibition in 1857 (about 25) were of dead game. In this example Fraser’s approach is extremely realistic; he paid strict attention to the color and details of the animals. The rendering of the wood grain is strikingly modern and is reminiscent of trompe l’oeil masters William Harnett (1848 – 1892) and John Peto (1854 – 1907).