Lot 111: JOSEPH DECKER 1853-1924 A GREAT FEAST Measurements: 10 by 20in. Alternate Measurements: (25.4 by 50.8 cm) signed J. Decker, l.r. oil on canvas Painted circa 1888-89. Provenance: Reuel F. Smith, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Private Collection, Corvallis,

JOSEPH DECKER 1853-1924 A GREAT FEAST Measurements: 10 by 20in. Alternate Measurements: (25.4 by 50.8 cm) signed J. Decker, l.r. oil on canvas Painted circa 1888-89. Provenance: Reuel F. Smith, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Private Collection, Corvallis, Oregon (his nephew; sold: O'Gallerie, Portland, Oregon, October 30, 1989) Acquired by the present owner at the above sale Note: While Joseph Decker's work received critical attention during his lifetime, it is only within the past twenty-five years that the artist has been recognized as one of America's most notable still-life painters. Dr. William H. Gerdts writes in a letter to the owner of the present painting, "It seems to me an exceptionally fine example of Decker's work, and within a genre which is often underappreciated." According to Dr. Gerdts, Decker painted approximately six pictures of the artist's pet squirrel, Bonnie. Dr. Gerdts compares the present painting to one in a private collection: "Your painting is really up there in quality with that owned by [a private collection]. This is true not only of the clarity of the forms despite the compactness of the compositon, but also in the lusterousness and sheen of the squirrel; the rich Tonal contrasts of light and dark; and the density of the leaves and nuts. By contrast the later squirrel pictures are lighter, more monochromatic with an emphasis upon tans and beige tones, with the animals situated further back in more open areas of forest floor. "Significantly, I know of only one review of a squirrel painting by Decker; this appeared when the picture was shown, not in New York, but at the Second Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1889. This appeared in the Chicago Tribune on May 30, as follows: 'Joseph Decker's mischievous little Gluttons, two gray squirrels reveling in a pile of nuts, are well painted lively little beasts.' Since two squirrels are mentioned, this cannot be your picture, and is in fact that owned by [the privtae collection], and Gluttons is an alternative title for their picture, which had been previously exhibited at the National Academy of Design annual, after which it was acquired in 1890 by Thomas B. Clarke, Decker's most significant patron and the most important collector of contemporary American art of the period. Clarke lent the picture the next year to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia under the title of Their Winter Hoard, as it is still known today. This also suggests that Decker may first have turned to painting squirrels about this time--perhaps in the autumn of 1888, and I would suggest that your picture might have been painted about then also--ca. 1888-89; perhaps this is the time that he acquired Bonnie. Your picture, in fact, is possibly another work owned by Clarke, a picture entitled A Bachelor which depicted a squirrel 'seated on his hind legs in a solitary corner of a woodland, [who] munches a nut selected from a goodly store scattered upon the ground,' according to the Clarke collection auction catalogue of 1889. However, the Clarke painting is listed as 14x21in, and yours is 10x20in, so perhaps [this] picture alternatively could be the work known as Repast in the Woods, which had been owned by one of Clarke's agents, Thomas McKie, another significant patron of Decker's work, which was sold at auction from McKie's estate in March of 1891. "In any case, your picture ranks up there with the best of Decker's work. It suggests not only Decker's knowledge and understanding of the animal, but his affection for it, creating an environment entirely congenial to the squirrel and one which provides it with a plentiful bounty even within its humble realm " A copy of Dr. Gerdts' letter will accompany the lot.