Lot 11: JOSEPH BIAYS ORD(Footnote 1) (1805-1865) Still Life with Fruit, Fishbowl and Landscape

signed "J.B. Ord" and dated "1850," l.r.- -oil on canvas 34 1/4 x 38 1/4 in. (87 x 97 cm.) RELATED LITERATURE W. H. Gerdts, "Painters of the Humble Truth," Missouri, 1981, p. 81 W. H. Gerdts and R. Burke, "American Still-Life Painting," New York, 1971, p. 60 Still life painting in America was somewhat dormant during the 1830s and 40s, after the deaths of James and Raphaelle Peale. Joseph Biays Ord, however, kept this important American tradition alive. Earlier in the century, the Peale family established the formal style of still life painting in Philadelphia. Both James and Raphaelle reduced elements to their purest form, and rendered them with precision. Further, each employed highly balanced compositions, with a dramatic contrast of light and shadow. With the death of both painters by 1831, still life painting waned substantially. According to Dr. William Gerdts, "Only one painter of real quality and significance has so far emerged from that almost twenty-year period. This was Joseph Biays Ord of Philadelphia." ("Painters of the Humble Truth," p. 81) Ord was not only a distinguished painter in his own right, but he represents an important transition in the course of American still life painting. The artist maintained the classical style of the Peales, as well as foreshadowed the ornate and abundant works of John F. Francis and Severin Roesen. Works by Ord are rare, as he exhibited seldomly before 1840, toward the end of his life. "Still Life with Fruit, Fishbowl and Landscape" is among his most complex and elaborate compositions. The artist employs a triangular format, anchored at the pinnacle by a decanter, ornately decorated with dancing cupids. A string of flowers, ivy and silk sash form the right angle, a cluster of grapes and seashell-filled fishbowl shape the left, while an abundance of fruit completes the base. On each side of the triangle, Ord balances a plane of shadow (the darkened column and niche) and light (the outdoor landscape) that is very much in keeping with the Peale tradition. However, the subtle, refined feeling of this chiaroscuro may also have been influenced by the French painter Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin. In fact, while Ord employs many American elements such as peaches, grapes, and greenery, he also uses European components. The fishbowl in particular is very rare in American still life painting, and is most likely an influence of 17th century Dutch masters. However Ord was influenced by other European and American painters, "Still Life with Fruit, Fishbowl and Landscape" is a unique composition by the artist. As another 19th century still life painter A. J. H. Way wrote: "Each artist impresses on his work more or less of his own individuality however much he may have admired and studied the works of another." (in T. T. Mickel "Permanent Perishables" in "William M. Harnett," p, 211) Ord's use of the pineapple, considered a luxury item in 18th and 19th century America, along with the profusion of other fruits and flowers, conveys an overall sense of luxuriance and fecundity. The artist, in fact, lived a very comfortable life with his father in Philadelphia, so "it is not surprising to find Ord's still lifes imbued with optimism." (Gerdts, "American Still Life Painting," p. 60) See footnote 1 for his sale.