Levi Wells Prentice, attributed to (1851-1935)
"Basket and Peaches"
Oil on canvas on board, 16" x 20" unframed
This piece was discovered in an antique gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y. After
numerous, painstaking hours were spent by a profession art conservator
removing layer upon layer of nearly opaque, brown varnish and grime,
it was discovered that beneath was the unmistakable work of the renound
artist Levi Wells Prentice. Self-taught artist Prentice is best known
for his realistic still-life compositions of fruit arranged within a
landscape, or abundantly spilling from baskets. Early in his career,
he painted portraits and landscapes of the Adirondack Mountain region
of Lewis County, New York, where Prentice was born in 1851. Prentice
later turned to painting still life subjects when he moved to Brooklyn,
New York in 1883. He was a member of the Brooklyn Art Association and
frequently exhibited his paintings there. In addition to his artistic
talents, Prentice also designed his own frames and made his own brushes
and palettes. Prentice's fruit still lifes are compositions of dramatic
co! ntrasts. The shift between dark background areas and the vibrant
hues of the fruit give the compositions an exciting, visual energy.
The fruit is presented with clarity and precision. An emphasis is placed
on the idea of man vs. nature, wooden baskets with the fleeting qualities
of nature. These paintings also demonstrate Prentice\rquote s remarkable
skills at rendering color, form, and texture. Noted art historian, William
H. Gerdts observed: "there are several works by Prentice in which
he achieves a quality of illusionism which is unsurpassed." In
1993 Levi Wells Prentice was celebrated in a retrospective exhibition
at the Adirondack Museum in New York. His works are represented in many
museums including the New York State Museum, Hudson River Museum, Carnegie
Museum of Pittsburgh, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Montclair Art Museum,
Philbrook Museum of Art and Yale University Art Gallery. He is an extensively
listed artist with powerful auction records!
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