Fruit and Leaves
Artist
Henry Lee McFee
(American, 1886 - 1953)
Date1938
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 1/8 × 24 1/16 inches (76.52 × 61.12 cm)
Framed: 36 7/16 × 30 3/8 × 2 5/8 inches (92.55 × 77.15 × 6.67 cm)
Framed: 36 7/16 × 30 3/8 × 2 5/8 inches (92.55 × 77.15 × 6.67 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Friends of Art
Object number39-1
SignedSigned lower right: M_F_e___c__e
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionStill life of tall vase of leaves and small bowl of fruit on corner of cloth-covered table. Other fruit on table. Blue and brown drapery background at right of painting, leaves at left side.Gallery LabelThis still-life may appear conventional at first glance. However, Henry McFee was influenced by modernist art movements and incorporated avant-garde elements into the painting. These include the blocky, broken brushwork that McFee uses to describe the green pear in the foreground, as well as the geometric shapes that dominate the composition. Notice the cylindrical vase, the spherical fruits, and even the triangular or diamond shapes of the two leaves closest to the vase’s handle.
M. U., “Spring Show at Rehns: Varied and Interesting Work Put on
Display,” New York Sun, 2 April 1938, 10; “Rehn Presents ‘Spring
1938’ Many New Paintings in Big Annual Group Show,” New York
Post, 2 April 1938, 5; Howard Devree, “A Reviewer’s Notebook,”
New York Times, 3 April 1938, 161; “A Group of Americans,” New
York Herald Tribune, 10 April 1938, VI8; “Fresh from the Studio,”
Art Digest 12 (15 April 1938), 20; “The Spring Festival of a Recognized Group of Painters,” Art News 36 (16 April 1938), 14; clipping, April 1938, Rehn Gallery Papers, Archives of American Art,
Smithsonian Institution, microfilm reel NY59-18, frame 116; “The
Friends of Art Present a Still Life to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star,
16 December 1938, 18; H[enry] C. H[askell], “The Friends of Art
Present a Still Life to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 16 December
1938, 18; “Gift to Gallery,” Kansas City Journal-Post, 18 December 1938, 24; H[enry] C. H[askell], “The Friends of Art Present
a Portrait to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 29 December 1938,
6; Spring 1938, exh. cat. (New York: Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries,
1938), unpaginated; The 1938 International Exhibition of Paintings, exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1938), unpaginated,
pl. 30; “Friends of Art,” News Flashes (William Rockhill Nelson
Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 5 (January
1939), 3; Whitney N. Morgan, “Recent American Museum Acquisitions,” Parnassus 11 (March 1939), 25–26 (as Fruits and Leaves);
NAMA 1940, 23; NAMA 1941, 149, 159, 166; “Nelson Gallery
Celebrates First Decade,” Art Digest 18 (15 December 1943), 7;
“Modern Painters Are Aided by the Friends of Art,” Kansas City
Star, 13 April 1947, 9D; Winifred Shields, “A Special Collection
of Works Is Growing at Nelson Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 19 May
1950, 28; Winifred Shields, “Key Role at Art Gallery Filled by Society of 500,” Kansas City Star, 4 January 1953, 8D; NAMA 1959,
257; Robert K. Sanford, “Behold ‘the Forgotten 40s,’” Kansas City
Star, 25 February 1962, 2D; NAMA 1973, 253; Donald Hoffmann,
“Tracing the Ups and Downs of the Friends of Art,” Kansas City
Star, 19 September 1976, 1E; John Baker, Henry Lee McFee and
Formalist Realism in American Still Life, 1923–1936, exh. cat.
(Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1987), 120–21, 128;
NAMA 1991, 171–72; Pamela D. King and Harry H. DeLorme Jr.,
Looking Back: Art in Savannah, 1900–1960, exh. cat. (Savannah,
Ga.: Telfair Museum of Art, 1996), 70–71.
Display,” New York Sun, 2 April 1938, 10; “Rehn Presents ‘Spring
1938’ Many New Paintings in Big Annual Group Show,” New York
Post, 2 April 1938, 5; Howard Devree, “A Reviewer’s Notebook,”
New York Times, 3 April 1938, 161; “A Group of Americans,” New
York Herald Tribune, 10 April 1938, VI8; “Fresh from the Studio,”
Art Digest 12 (15 April 1938), 20; “The Spring Festival of a Recognized Group of Painters,” Art News 36 (16 April 1938), 14; clipping, April 1938, Rehn Gallery Papers, Archives of American Art,
Smithsonian Institution, microfilm reel NY59-18, frame 116; “The
Friends of Art Present a Still Life to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star,
16 December 1938, 18; H[enry] C. H[askell], “The Friends of Art
Present a Still Life to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 16 December
1938, 18; “Gift to Gallery,” Kansas City Journal-Post, 18 December 1938, 24; H[enry] C. H[askell], “The Friends of Art Present
a Portrait to the Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 29 December 1938,
6; Spring 1938, exh. cat. (New York: Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries,
1938), unpaginated; The 1938 International Exhibition of Paintings, exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1938), unpaginated,
pl. 30; “Friends of Art,” News Flashes (William Rockhill Nelson
Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts) 5 (January
1939), 3; Whitney N. Morgan, “Recent American Museum Acquisitions,” Parnassus 11 (March 1939), 25–26 (as Fruits and Leaves);
NAMA 1940, 23; NAMA 1941, 149, 159, 166; “Nelson Gallery
Celebrates First Decade,” Art Digest 18 (15 December 1943), 7;
“Modern Painters Are Aided by the Friends of Art,” Kansas City
Star, 13 April 1947, 9D; Winifred Shields, “A Special Collection
of Works Is Growing at Nelson Gallery,” Kansas City Star, 19 May
1950, 28; Winifred Shields, “Key Role at Art Gallery Filled by Society of 500,” Kansas City Star, 4 January 1953, 8D; NAMA 1959,
257; Robert K. Sanford, “Behold ‘the Forgotten 40s,’” Kansas City
Star, 25 February 1962, 2D; NAMA 1973, 253; Donald Hoffmann,
“Tracing the Ups and Downs of the Friends of Art,” Kansas City
Star, 19 September 1976, 1E; John Baker, Henry Lee McFee and
Formalist Realism in American Still Life, 1923–1936, exh. cat.
(Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1987), 120–21, 128;
NAMA 1991, 171–72; Pamela D. King and Harry H. DeLorme Jr.,
Looking Back: Art in Savannah, 1900–1960, exh. cat. (Savannah,
Ga.: Telfair Museum of Art, 1996), 70–71.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
