Artwork
Marble Tabletop with Fruit and Wineglass
Marble Tabletop with Fruit and Wineglass is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Milne Ramsey. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1869, this oil painting on board presents a still‑life composition centered on a marble tabletop.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center right: Milne Ramsey / 069
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
The painting presents a still life arrangement of fruit and a wineglass set on a marble tabletop, evoking themes of abundance and the fleeting nature of pleasure. The depicted objects carry connotations of wealth and sensory enjoyment common in 19th-century American still-life iconography, reflecting themes of material prosperity and the transitory character of worldly delights. The work is housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has been part of the collection since a 2018 gift.
Technique & Style
Rendered in oil on board, the painting measures 30.48 by 40.96 cm. As a tabletop still life, it presents fruit and a wineglass arranged on a marble surface, a compositional format characteristic of mid-to-late nineteenth-century American still-life practice, in which Ramsey specialized. The medium of oil on board supports the smooth, controlled finish typical of cabinet-scale pictures intended for intimate domestic display, while the depiction of polished marble alongside reflective glassware indicates careful attention to the rendering of varied material textures within a compact format.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1869 by Milne Ramsey, the work entered the collection of William H. Gerdts in New York by at least 1965. Gerdts, a New York collector, lent it to a circa 1965 exhibition organized by the American Federation of the Arts in New York. In 2018 the painting was gifted by Gerdts to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains, documented in the museum's curatorial files regarding the earlier exhibition loan.
Overview
Created in 1869, this oil painting on board presents a still‑life composition centered on a marble tabletop. A selection of fruit, grapes, apples, a walnut and a peach, rests beside a wineglass filled with a golden liquid. A small fly is perched on the peach, and the scene is set against a subdued, dark background that emphasizes the illuminated objects.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Milne Ramsey was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1847 and died March 16, 1915, in Philadelphia was an American artist who painted still lifes, landscapes and nautical scenes.
