William Mason Brown was born in Troy, New York, where he studied for several years with local artists, including the leading portraitist there, Abel Buell Moore. In 1850, he moved to Newark, New Jersey, and began painting romantic landscapes in a meticulous style reminiscent of the Hudson River School. In 1858, Brown moved to Brooklyn, where he worked for the rest of his career, exhibiting annually at the National Academy of Design, New York, from 1859 to 1890, and at the Brooklyn Art Association from 1865 to 1886.
Brown was undoubtedly exposed to the teachings of John Ruskin, which so greatly affected American artists during the late 1850s and 1860s. The Ruskinian, or Pre-Raphaelite, influence is reflected in Brown’s crisply painted, meticulously detailed still lifes, including Strawberries Strewn on a Forest Floor. William H. Gerdts said of the artist:
[Brown’s] still lifes are the most meticulous and photographic of his generation and during his lifetime his technique was compared to that of the great French academician, Jean-Léon Gérôme. . . . Brown almost never allowed his paint handling to be apparent. He reveled in textural duplication: the “halo” of the fuzziness of a peach, the “map” of the rind of a cantaloupe. In painting humbler fruits — berries and cherries — each particular item in a group had its own color, its own highlight, its own quality of weight (Painters of the Humble Truth [1981], p. 102).
As a former landscape painter, Brown was a staunch practitioner of another Ruskinian tenet — the still life placed in a natural setting — of which Strawberries Strewn on a Forest Floor is a prime example. In contrast to the more formal and traditional tabletop still life (which Brown also painted), Ruskin preached that fruit and flowers ought to be rendered as they exist in nature, relieved by soil or grass and other vegetation, and much like the works of the famous English painter William Henry “Bird’s Nest” Hunt. However, Barbara Dayer Gallati has noted a curious contradiction of Ruskinian theory in a similar work by Brown, Raspberries (oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in.; The J. B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky; see Linda S. Ferber and William H. Gerdts, “The New Path: Ruskin and the American Pre-Raphaelites,” exhib. cat. [New York: The Brooklyn Museum, 1985], p. 148 pl. 20 illus. in color), which depicts a loose bundle of raspberries set within an intimate space on the forest floor:
There is detectable in Strawberries Strewn on a Forest Floor, however, a duality in approach to nature that is antithetical to Ruskinian doctrine. The individual berries, the sheltering bush, the wild flowers, and grassy patch of earth are uniformly executed in a fashion comparable to that of Ruskin’s closest followers. Yet the berries do not appear as they would in nature; the artist’s hand has intervened in order to create a pleasing composition. This feature, along with the stage-like setting and theatrical lighting, introduces an artificial note which suggests that however veristic it all may seem, this is a composition that originated in the studio and not in nature (Gallati, “Raspberries,” in ibid., p. 92).
This apparent contradiction in Ruskinian theory is also seen in Strawberries Strewn on a Forest Floor, which presents a loose group of rich red strawberries scattered about the forest floor. Although he concentrated on landscape painting in the early part of his career, Brown gained wider recognition for his still lifes, particularly of fruit, which were occasionally lithographed by Currier & Ives, or other printing houses, and were thus widely distributed. The characteristically strong color and tightly executed forms of his work lent themselves to the lithographic process.
"Still Life with Peaches"
By William Mason Brown
Located in Jacksonville, FL
William Mason Brown’s Still Life with Peaches is a sumptuous celebration of nature’s bounty, rendered with exquisite precision and warmth. At the heart of the composition, a grouping...
Oil
"Sunset Autumn on the Lake" Cerca 1860'
By William Mason Brown
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Signature: Unsigned Medium/Ground: Oil / Canvas Size Inches: 22" x 34" The oil is one of his largest landscapes known. It was just exhibited in the Quest royal Gallery exhibit...
Oil
Strawberries Strewn on a Forest Floor
By William Mason Brown
Located in New York, NY
William Mason Brown was born in Troy, New York, where he studied for several years with local artists, including the leading portraitist there, Abel Buel Moore. In 1850, he moved to ...
Canvas, Oil
$3,850
H 29.75 in W 33.5 in D 1 in
Girl with Sheep and Car – Original Folk Art Oil Painting by Martin Saldaña
By Martin Saldana
Located in Denver, CO
Step into a world of color, memory, and rural charm with “Girl with Sheep and Car,” a joyful and visually rich original oil painting on board by renowned Mexican-American folk artist...
Oil
Ocean Beach, 2023
By Willard Dixon
Located in Burlingame, CA
Oil painting by Willard Dixon featuring figures enjoying a day at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Willard Dixon, who is one of the finest American contempora...
Canvas, Oil
$2,400
H 13.5 in W 15.5 in D 1.5 in
"View of New Hope" Pennsylvania Pastoral Autumnal Landscape Bridge Oil Painting
Located in New York, NY
Impressionist pastoral scene of a quaint autumnal view of the bridge heading into New Hope, Bucks County, PA. Willet has portrayed this piece in a most intimate, yet energetic way, and has packed much feeling into this miniature work. It is almost as if we are there in the early morning, bringing a beautiful feeling of nostalgia. Christopher is known for capturing the beauty and simplicity of an earlier time of the 20th Century; old New York, families working together, villages and farms and friends taking walks together. Many are depicted in recognizable historical settings and this piece is an excellent example of this as he captures a snow-filled historic setting of Bucks County with the calm, endearing charm of a snowy morning. Christopher engages his audience with the quick use of brushwork and great attention to picking up the energy passionately of his subjects. The piece comes housed in a contemporary dark tone wood frame with a gold tone edge and it is ready to be displayed with hanging wire on verso. Art measures 8 x 10 inches Frame measures 13.5 x 15.5 inches Christopher Willett...
Oil, Board
Reverie: Morning
By Brooks Anderson
Located in Burlingame, CA
Ethereal landscape with water celebrating morning light. Oil on canvas is 30 x 40 inches, and it is meticulously painted by Brooks Anderson. Signed, ti...
Canvas, Oil
$3,013
H 26.78 in W 22.45 in D 1.38 in
Delicatesse, White Monochrom, Abstract, french artist, oil and collage, library
By SOPHIE DUMONT
Located in LANGRUNE-SUR-MER, FR
Sophie Dumont's canvas, a testament to her artistic finesse, unfolds a captivating tableau of a library rendered in monochrome. The meticulous application of oil on canvas, coupled w...
Oil
'Beach at Crissy Field' (San Francisco, California)
By Willard Dixon
Located in Burlingame, CA
Oil painting by Willard Dixon featuring the Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field in San Francisco. Willard Dixon, who is one of the finest American contemporary realist painters today, has painted coastal landscapes for 35 years, capturing the undeniable beauty of the West with its grand and humble spirit. The painting, with its atmospheric light and calm palette is contemporary and serene. Dixon’s work can be found in numerous distinctive private and public collections, as well as the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his work is collected Internationally. Artist signed and dated. A classic Dixon that will sure to bring those who view it a life time of pleasure. Beach at Crissy Field, painted in 2022. the canvas is 26 x 45 inches. Oil on canvas, and traditionally framed in contemporary, minimal hardwood floater frame.Condition is new and excellent. Artist signed and dated. Ready to ship. Proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Selected Collections The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Oakland Museum The Utah Museum of Fine Art San Francisco Art Commission Shaklee Corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Francisco, CA Kemper Insurance Company, Long Grove, Il Morrison and Foerester, San Francisco, CA SSI Container Corporation...
Canvas, Oil
$3,495
H 35.04 in W 40.56 in D 1.97 in
Country landscape with cows, Mechelse school, 1838, Signed Karel De San
Located in brussel, BE
We know very little about the Mechelen landscape painter Karel De San. He appears to have been mainly active during the period 1829-1848. The painterly landscape with the dramatic sk...
Canvas, Oil
$2,917
H 35.04 in W 29.93 in
English School Mid 19th Century Oil - Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine Stole
Located in Corsham, GB
A superb c.1840 English School half-length portrait of a lady in an ermine stole and lace cap. The lady's face is flushed with colour as she gazes her chestnut eyes to the left. Tigh...
Oil
"Nocturnal Lotus" SALE oil on canvas, 1981
By Lowell Nesbitt
Located in Southampton, NY
Lowell Nesbitt's paintings are in most major museum collections. He is the artist that NASA selected to commemorate the Apollo Moon missions over 50 years ago. In the 1950s he dabb...
Canvas, Oil
Central Park
By Denes de Holesch
Located in Sheffield, MA
Denes Holesch Hungarian, 1910-1983 City Skyline Oil on board 21 ¾ by 26 in, w/ frame 30 by 34 in Signed lower left Denes Holesch (Denes de Holesch) was born in 1910 in Beszterceban...
Oil
$3,500
H 16 in W 40 in
Edward Marecak “Still Life with Smiling Face” 1969 Original Oil Painting
By Edward Marecak
Located in Denver, CO
This original circa 1969 oil painting, titled “Still Life with Smiling Face,” is a vibrant and character-rich work by influential Denver modernist Edward Marecak. Known for his imagi...
Oil
Annunciation
By Brooks Anderson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Annunciation' - oil on canvas is 40 x 30 inches, meticulously painted by American Realist Brooks Anderson. Canvas edges are painted dark in artist's signature style. Lovely to behol...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 28 in W 32 in D 3 in
"A Still Life of Peaches on a Tapestry" Oil Painting by William Mason Brown
By William Mason Brown
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Oil on canvas, signed lower right and presented in a wonderful, possibly original, gilt frame. Featuring peaches in an interior setting resting on a tapestry. Measuring 28" x 32" ...
Paint
Sold
H 12 in W 14 in D 3 in
Antique American Fruit Still Life Oil Painting by William Mason Brown
By William Mason Brown
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American fruit still life by William Mason Brown (1828 - 1898). Oil on canvas, circa 1860. Signed in monogram "WMB". Displayed in a giltwood frame. Image, 10"L x 8"H, ov...
Canvas, Oil