Fruit Piece 1860

Hannah Brown Skeele's "Fruit Piece" (1860) is an oil on canvas still life painting that depicts a bountiful arrangement of fruit in a white porcelain bowl. The bowl sits on a table with a patterned tablecloth, alongside a bowl of strawberries and a silver sugar bowl, suggesting a leisurely afternoon setting. Skeele's meticulous attention to detail, particularly in the textures of the fruit and the sheen of the silver, exemplifies the high quality of 19th-century American still life art. This artwork, now housed at The Art Institute of Chicago, showcases the artist's skilled hand and provides a glimpse into the domestic life of a bygone era.