Lot 148: JOSEPH DECKER (1853-1924)

signed J. Deck..., l.r. oil on canvas Painted circa 1890s. In a letter dated March 14, 2002, Dr. William H. Gerdts writes, "[The present painting] is an excellent example of the kind of still life in which Decker excelled in the 1890s--interpreted in a somewhat painterly mode with a soft luminosity which has been related to his friendship with George Inness but which also, of course, reflects the tremendous respect for the still lifes of the French eighteenth century still-life master, Chardin, whose influence was greatly felt both in France and in the United States." A letter from Dr. Gerdts will accompany this lot.

Acquired by the present owner circa 1950s