Christie’s Spotlights Still Lifes and Portraits by Celebrated Family of American Painters

Christie’s upcoming sale of 19th-century American masterworks from the collection of Daniel A. Pollack features a constellation of still life and portraiture from the Peale family of artists. This includes a portrait of George Washington by Charles Peale Polk. The available example is one in a series of Washington portraits that the artist executed in the 1790s. It is particularly notable for the stormy sky behind the sitter, a dramatic backdrop that does not detract from Washington’s grace and gravitas. Also notable in the offerings is Raphaelle Peale’s Currants and Biscuits still life. Regarded as America’s first significant still life painter, Peale’s elaborate still lifes were outliers during an era dominated by portrait painting. The available work shows several raisin cakes, an expensive delicacy, that the artist likely purchased from a bakery located down the street from the Peale home. 

Also headlining the event is William Michael Harnett’s notable Lobster, Fruit, Champagne and Newspaper painting from 1882. This work is part of Harnett’s famous series of lobster-focused still lifes inspired by Abraham van Beyeren’s Large Still-Life with Lobster. The offered version of the scene is possibly the only Harnett lobster painting with a red background. Other notable lots in this sale include John La Farge’s water lily study from 1883, a lustrous watermelon still life by Sarah Miriam Peale, and a stern portrait of Mrs. Samuel Watts by John Singleton Copley. Browse the complete catalog and register to bid by visiting Christie’s.