Still Life with Peaches and Pears, 1922-23

Provenance

The artist
Adelaide Shaffer Kuntz, Bronxville, New York, acquired from the above, 1935-1945
Carl Sprinchorn, Selkirk, New York, acquired from the above
Carl Sprinchorn Estate, 1971
Private collection
Unknown auction, 1988, lot 36, illus. (color)
Allison Gallery, New York, acquired from the above, 1988
The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, Pennsylvania
Sale, Christie’s, New York, New York, November 18, 2025, lot 394

Literature

McCausland, Elizabeth. Elizabeth McCausland Papers, 1838–1995, bulk 1920–1960 Series 6: Marsden Hartley, 1900–1964 (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), 14.31.19–20 datasheets, as Pears and Peaches.

This painting will be included in The Marsden Hartley Legacy Project: Complete Paintings and Works on Paper, with Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

Related Works

Still Life No. 3, 1923, oil on canvas, 22¾ × 41 inches; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Still Life No. 2, ca. 1921–23, oil on canvas, 21½ × 36⅛ inches; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

Note

Still Life with Peaches and Pears reflects Hartley’s engagement with the work of Matisse, Picasso, and Cézanne, which shaped his approach to structure and color. The vivid hues in his oil and pastel works arise largely from imagination rather than direct observation, earning him a reputation as “an imaginative colorist.”[1] Hartley’s still lifes from this period employ a shallow picture plane and became especially prolific during his extended stays in Germany. His work is represented in major collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Gallery of Art.

[1] Bruce Weber. The Heart of the Matter: The Still Lifes of Marsden Hartley: May 6-June 27, 2003. (Berry-Hill Galleries, 2003), 17.