Artwork
Still Life: Fruit, Bird, and Dwarf Pear Tree
Still Life: Fruit, Bird, and Dwarf Pear Tree is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Charles V. Bond. It dates from 1856 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Charles V.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on reverse: C. V. Bond, / Chicago, / 1856.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting belongs to the still life genre, a category devoted to the careful observation of natural specimens rather than narrative action.
Charles V. Bond's 1856 still life presents a tightly arranged composition of fruit and a bird set against a dwarf pear tree. The painting belongs to the still life genre, a category devoted to the careful observation of natural specimens rather than narrative action. By combining harvested fruit with a living bird and a cultivated miniature tree, Bond gathers together recognizable markers of the natural world into a single contemplative tableau.
The pairing of fruit and bird is a conventional still life motif, and the inclusion of the dwarf pear tree introduces a horticultural element that anchors the arrangement in cultivated nature. The work's meaning lies in this focused presentation of organic forms, characteristic of mid-nineteenth-century American still life practice.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1856, this work is an oil painting on canvas support. The piece measures 63.5 centimeters in height by 76.5 centimeters in width. As a still life, the composition features depictions of birds and fruit, rendered through the application of oil paint.
The classification remains firmly within the genre of still life painting, utilizing traditional materials of the mid-nineteenth century.
History & Provenance
Created by Charles V. Bond in 1856, the oil-on-canvas painting Still Life: Fruit, Bird, and Dwarf Pear Tree originated in Chicago before the work was acquired by Childs Gallery in Boston. The gallery sold the piece in 1948 to the collectors Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Following their ownership, the artwork entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., via bequest in 1980, where it is accessioned as 1980.1.1.
Overview
Charles V. Bond's 1856 oil painting, Still Life: Fruit, Bird, and Dwarf Pear Tree, presents a traditional arrangement of natural elements. Executed on canvas, the work features a delicate bird alongside various fruits, all set against the backdrop of a small pear tree. This piece exemplifies the still life genre, focusing on detailed observation and composition within a domestic or natural setting.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
This Brooklyn-born painter spent his evenings in saloons sketching the patrons because he liked the light on their faces and the stories in their hands.
