Search Collections
The Chinese Fishmonger
1881
Theodore Wores
Born: San Francisco, California 1859
Died: San Francisco, California 1939
oil on canvas
34 3/4 x 46 1/8 in. (88.3 x 117.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson
1972.153
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center
Theodore Wores came to know San Francisco's Chinatown as a child, when he walked home from his father's hat business through the bustling Asian community. The Chinese Fishmonger was the first painting he completed after returning to America from Europe, and the dark tones, strong highlights, and expressive brushstrokes reflect his Munich training. Wores struggled to get Chinese people to pose for his paintings until one of his young assistants, a Chinese student named Ah Gai, accompanied him to translate his requests. In this image, Wores captured the glistening, slimy scales of the fish as they slid from the basket onto the tabletop, so that we can imagine the exotic smells and hubbub of Chinatown's street markets.
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Architecture Interior - commercial - market
Ethnic - Chinese
Figure male
Object - game - fish
Object - other - basket
Occupation - vendor - fishmonger
painting
paint - oil
fabric - canvas
About Theodore Wores
Born: San Francisco, California 1859 Died: San Francisco, California 1939
Social Media @ American Art