Artwork
Still Life
Still Life is an oil painting by the Precisionist artist Preston Dickinson. It dates from 1924 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a medium consistent with Preston Dickinson's painting practice of the mid-1920s.
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a medium consistent with Preston Dickinson's painting practice of the mid-1920s. Its canvas support measures 61.2 cm in height by 76.5 cm in width, yielding a horizontal format suited to the still life genre. Held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the painting is catalogued under accession reference 1664.1926, dating its creation to 1924.
History & Provenance
Preston Dickinson created the oil-on-canvas painting Still Life in 1924. The work is currently held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, where it is cataloged under the accession number 1664.1926. The painting measures approximately 61.2 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width.
While the specific commission details and the chain of ownership prior to the museum's acquisition are not detailed in the provided records, the work's creation is firmly dated to 1924.
Preston Dickinson's 1924 oil painting, Still Life, is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland. The work is cataloged under the accession number 1664.1926. The painting measures 61.2 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width. No specific exhibition history is provided in the available records.
Overview
William Preston Dickinson's Still Life, painted in oil in 1924, exemplifies the core tenets of the Precisionist movement. This work showcases the artist's application of a distinctive style, typically associated with industrial subjects, to a domestic scene. It highlights the movement's commitment to clarity and a modernist reduction of forms, presenting everyday objects with a structured and simplified aesthetic. The painting is now part of The Cleveland Museum of Art's collection.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a carefully arranged still life: a white bowl with a dark fruit and green leaves, alongside a brown bottle with a white label and cork, all resting on a table draped with a white, bordered cloth. A muted gray wall with a subtle architectural element forms the background. Through the Precisionist lens, these ordinary items are transformed.
Their forms are streamlined and crisply defined, elevating the mundane into a study of geometric purity and compositional balance.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
William Preston Dickinson (September 9, 1889 – November 25, 1930) was an American modern artist, best known for his paintings of industrial subjects in the Precisionist style.
