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
Untitled
By Alexandre Charriol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance: The artist Karl Hutter Fine Art, Beverly Hills
Canvas, Crayon, Oil
$13,142
H 21.66 in Dm 15.75 in
Italian 18th Century Oval Religious Oil on Canvas Painting with Saint Dominic
By Francesco de Mura
Located in Firenze, IT
This beautiful Italian 18th Century old masters oil painting on oval canvas with giltwood frame is attributed to Solimena and features a religious scene. In this splendid oval-shaped painting are depicted Saint Dominic...
Canvas, Oil
$5,376
H 25.6 in W 30.71 in D 1.97 in
19th Century Roman Landscape oil on canvas with Giltwood Frame
Located in Rome, IT
Amaizing 19' century Roman landscape depicting a part of Villa Borghese with Trinità dei Monti. With a finely carved gilt wood coeval frame. Measurements with frame cm 65 x78 wit...
Oil
$8,853
H 30.32 in W 43.31 in D 1.97 in
J. Brunner 1869 Oil on Canvas Austrian Landscape with Lake and Mountain Painting
Located in Firenze, IT
This very fine quality 19th century oil on canvas in dark brown wood frame with gold leaves details throughout is signed by Joseph Brunner (Vienna 1826-...
Canvas, Wood, Oil
$4,181
H 20.08 in W 28.75 in D 1.19 in
Italian Impressionist Oil on Board Marine Landscape Painting Naples Bay View
By Francesco Coppola Castaldo
Located in Firenze, IT
Everyday fishermen life is captured in this wonderful Italian impressionist late 19th century oil painting on thin board titled fishermen ashore. We love the neutral and natural colo...
Oil, Board
$8,524Sale Price|25% Off
H 51.19 in W 33.47 in D 1.19 in
Venice Landscape Italian Oil on Canvas Painting in Gilt Wood Frame, Belle Epoque
Located in Firenze, IT
This delightful turn of the century (early 20th century) oil on canvas painting represents an Italian landscape with one of the most famous squares in the world: Piazza San Marco in ...
Canvas, Oil
$173,244
H 94.49 in W 85.44 in D 1.19 in
Oil on Canvas Painting Portrait of the Italian Noble Family of Zanardi Count
By Lucia Casalini Torelli
Located in Firenze, IT
This museum quality old master oil on canvas formal portrait painting depicting the family of the Count Zanardi is signed by the artist- the female painter Lucia Casalini Torelli- and published in a book dedicated to Casalini Torelli’s workshop and academy. This palatial masterpiece artwork comes directly from the ancient Villa Maraini Guerrieri - Palidano di Gonzaga (Mantua), an historic Italian heritage building owned by the descendants of the family portrayed for more than two centuries, until 1998. The big scale of this oil on canvas masterpiece painting states the relevance of Lucia Casalini Torelli as a painter. The present artwork is a formal family portrait painting that aim to introduce the characters depicted according to their social role in the society. The noble family is all gathered under a loggia overlooking a park, the landscape in the background is partially covered by a beautiful red cloth on the right side. The father stands up and holds the hand of his eldest son, proudly introducing his future heir. The son wears a light-blue dress and red boots, he is depicted in a serious pose holding a black tricorn hat under his arm and a rapier sword on his belt. The mother wears an elegant gold and dark green brocade dress, she is sitting with her youngest daughter on her knees while her second son is by her side. The little daughter wears a lovely long red and dress with white lace and holds an apple on her hand. The son stands next to his mother and is dressed in a brown priestly clothes. This palatial old masters piece was probably painted in 1740 due to the similarities with Cardinal Doria’ s portrait, now on display at the Doria Palace Museum, the official residence of the Prince of Genoa. The painting features original canvas (“prima tela”) and antique original patina, it is in excellent overall condition considering the age, use and its large scale. A formal detailed condition report and the results of the inspection with the UV lamp accompanied by photos is available on request. As well as for its exceptional quality and quite perfect state of conservation, this painting is particularly important and even more valuable both for the artist who painted it and for its absolutely exclusive provenance. Lucia painted the most prominent and powerful noble families of her time, the location of these paintings is unknown to the art market as it is extremely likely that the portraits are still kept in private collections. Furthermore, Lucia was one of the most appreciated artists of her time, so important that she was admitted as a member of the academy at a time when women were forbidden to attend these studies. In 1706, Felice Torelli...
Canvas, Oil
$5,000
H 30 in W 26 in D 0.75 in
'The Artist's Garden', Munich Academy, Art Institute of Chicago, PAFA, Corcoran
By Julius Moessel
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
'The Artist's Garden' by Julius Moessel, 1943. Munich Academy, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, Corcoran ----- Signed lower left 'Moessel' for Julius Moe...
Canvas, Oil
Three Figures
By Wifredo Lam
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance: Cernuda Art, Coral Gables Private Collection, Los Angeles
Canvas, Oil
$17,227Sale Price|20% Off
H 33.47 in W 27.56 in D 1.97 in
Pair of 18th century Italian Still Life Paintings of Flowers
Located in Rome, IT
Pair of very decorative Italian Still-life paintings of flowers with vases and classical figures . 18th century, oil on canvas, with original gilt-wood frames. This pair is an exce...
Oil
$10,753
H 55.12 in W 53.15 in D 3.94 in
Post- Impressionist Venetian Nude Painting the Bathing Nymphs Signed Seibezzi
By Fioravante Seibezzi
Located in Rome, IT
“Bathing Nymphs,” Oil on Canvas cm 115×110 with frame cm 140×135 Fioravante Seibezzi (Venice, 1906-1974), Post-Impressionist Venetian painter, he devoted himself to landscape en plein air, translating the immediacy of impressionism through pure, bright colors. His debut at the Venice Biennale in 1938, participates in the Quadrennial Roman (1931, 1935, 1948, 1951, 1959) and several exhibitions abroad. He received important awards during his long career. In 2010 the exhibition “Settepittori Settemondi. Palazzo Carminati La Bohème “at the Maximilian Tower of St. Erasmus, Venice, sponsored by the Cultural Paolo Rizzi in collaboration with the Institution Lagoon Park – City of Venice. One hundred works from a single collector who chose Aldo Bergamini, Neno Mori, Marco Novati...
Oil
$2,155Sale Price|20% Off
H 22 in W 26 in D 4 in
Oil Painting 'Amalfi Coast, Atrani' by Antonio Iannicelli
By Antonio Ianicelli
Located in Uppingham, GB
Oil on board 'Atrani' by Antonio Iannicelli. Atrani a small town along the Amalfi Coast recently featured in the film 'Ripley' Antonio Iannicelli was born in Naples, Italy in 1952...
Oil
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