Race to Daytona to See Young America
Young America: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is closing on January 28 at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida.Sumptuous grapes, peaches, berries, watermelon, even a pineapple, spill over from a wicker basket to the marble tabletop in Severin Roesen's luxurious Still Life with Fruit from Young America.
Twisting grapevines and whimsical tendrils visually extend the composition beyond the table. This lavish yet seasonally improbable still life emphasizes America's bounty and mid-century optimism, qualities that appealed to the country's rising middle class, eager for decorative displays to grace their dining rooms.
Source: Gwen Everett. Young America: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).
Pictured: Severin Roesen, 1815 Germany–after 1872 USA, Still Life with Fruit, 1852, oil, 34 x 44 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Maria Alice Murphy in memory of her brother Col. Edward J. Murphy, Jr. and museum purchase through the Director's Discretionary Fund .