Fruit Piece

Museum record 156596: Fruit Piece by Hannah Brown Skeele. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For Fruit Piece (record 156596), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

Discover

This pristinely arranged still life by Hannah Brown Skeele features US-grown produce as well as imported specialties such as bananas, oranges, a pineapple, and sugar cubes. The composition was likely to appeal to middle- and upper-class consumers in the mid-19th century, who increasingly purchased still-life paintings to adorn their homes. Born in Maine and active in Missouri, Skeele exhibited Fruit Piece the year it was painted, then already in the collection of a Saint Louis businessman. The tropical f…