John Moran Auctioneers - California Art Auction

1047 William J. McCloskey (1859-1941 Orange, CA)
Apples on a Table, signed and dated lower right: William J. McCloskey 1896, oil on canvas, 11’’ x 24’’, est:$80,000/120,000
Note: Painted with typical exacting and exquisite detail, the present still life is a fresh to market example of the artist’s trompe l’oeil
painting style. McCloskey and his wife Alberta Binford McCloskey (1863-1911) both focused on table top still life as a main subject of
their work and utilized compositions that included ‘’well lit fruit in a triangular arrangement, resting on a highly-reflective mahogany
table top, and backed by a darkly obscure plush or velvet drape. Many of the works have an extended horizontal format . . . The
frequency of this theme for the artists must prove that it was a popular seller, and indeed the uniqueness of the subject, the striking
color combinations . . . must have been very appealing’’ (N.D.W. Moure, ‘’Partners in Illusion: Alberta Binford and William J. McCloskey,
Santa Ana, CA, 1996, p. 19).
According to the ‘Catalogue of Known Artworks’ listing in Moure’s book, McCloskey executed two other still lifes in 1896 utlizing the
same type and amount of apples. Each example from this series features subtle differences in the way the artist carefully arranged the
fruit on the dark mahogany surface.
Provenance: Private Collection, Sacramento, CA; by descent in the family. Visual: Generally good condition. New keys added for
stability. Blacklight: A nickel-sized area of touch-up on the apple second from the left to address a small repaired tear. A spot of touchup
on the left apple and a spot of touch-up on the right apple.
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