Corn and Cantaloupe

Artist Raphaelle Peale (1774 - 1825)

Dateca. 1813

MediumOil on panel

Dimensions14 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (36.8 x 49.5 cm)
Framed: 20 3/8 × 25 3/8 × 2 1/8 in.

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2007.223

Accession number 2007.223

On View

On view

Provenanceto Dr. Benjamin Lee [1791-1863], Oak Hill, Prince George's County, MD; by descent to Eleanor Belt Lee (his wife), 1863; to Violetta Lee Harding [d. 1910] (her daughter), 1865; by bequest to Eleanora Belt (her sister), 1910; to Benjamin Lee Belt (her son), 1915; William Seton Belt [d. 1959] (his brother), 1935; to Estate of William Seton Belt, 1959; traded to Fredus Proctor, Shady Side, MD, 1959; (Robert Campbell's Auction, Annapolis, MD), early 1970s; purchased by Eric Young, Crownsville, MD, early 1970s; (Harris Auction Gallery, Baltimore, MD), June 14, 1987 (as Early Still Life on Panel); purchased by (John's Antiques, Baltimore, MD), 1987; to Private Collection, 1989; Private Collection; to (Christie's, New York, NY), November 29, 2007, sale 1911, lot 91; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2007
Label TextRaphaelle Peale’s Corn and Cantaloupe contains both recognizable national symbols and personal associations for the artist. When the painting was first shown in Philadelphia in 1814, viewers would have recognized the prominently placed corn as a crop specific to the Americas and an icon of early American history and stories.

The array of vegetables and fruit in the painting were cultivated on farms and in hothouses near the artist’s family home. The cantaloupe, an Anne Arundel melon, was named after the Maryland County where Peale’s mother was born.

Maíz y melón de Raphaelle Peale contiene tanto símbolos nacionales reconocibles como objetos de carácter personal para el artista. Cuando la pintura fue exhibida por primera vez en Filadelfia en 1814, los espectadores hubieran reconocido el maíz que protagoniza esta pintura como un cultivo específico de las Américas y un símbolo del comienzo de la historia y el folclor de los Estados Unidos.

La variedad de vegetales y frutas en esta pintura fueron cultivados en granjas e invernaderos cerca al hogar de la familia del artista. El melón de la variedad Anne Arundel, recibió su nombre por el condado de Maryland en el que nació la madre de Peale.