Still Life with Books
Artist
John Frederick Peto
(American, 1854–1907)
Date1890s
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions19 x 24.8 cm (7 1/2 x 9 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Object number2000.72
Label TextThis still life is an example of trompe-l’oeil painting (in French, “fool the eye”). In the late nineteenth century, collectors enjoyed works like this by John Frederick Peto and his friend and colleague William Michael Harnett, whose highly detailed images of various objects created whimsical guessing games among viewers about reality and optical illusions.ProvenanceCelest F. Farnes, Pennsylvania; to her estate; Sotheby's, New York, NY; to William Dean, New York; Keogh & RiehlmanOn View
On view
