George Clare (English, 1835-1890)

Oil on canvas, signed.

Known for his still life paintings of fruit and flowers, Victorian painter George Clare lived in Birmingham and exhibited in London. This sumptuous composition of late summer fruit typifies his carefully rendered work. Delicate red raspberries, each seemingly placed just-so in a wicker basket, are almost translucent. Above them a cluster of peaches and green leaves suggest they have been just now picked; the rich, orangey tones of the fruit are countered by a single frosted purple plum at the left. Glowing yellow apples at center, however, indicate that summer is rapidly merging into fall, as does the tremendous clutch of grapes twined with yellowing vines and leaves. Though exacting in its detail, there is a soft haziness to Clare’s canvas, recalling the heat and stillness of a long August afternoon.

A gold period frame, rich in ornamentation, echoes the luxe of the composition.

George Clare’s work was shown at the Royal Academy, British Institution and Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street. His two sons, Oliver and Vincent, followed in his footsteps becoming painters of similar subject matter.