United States

The Cup We All Race 4 presents a visual rebus and pushes painting beyond representation to question the boundaries between reality and illusion. The central boards—with their hook and nails, tin cup, and incised letters—are painted on the canvas. But the painting’s frame is made of actual wooden boards, painted to match those depicted. The artist’s game is made even more convincing by the realistic scale of all these objects and the mysterious title.

This painting presents a pile of books hastily arranged in a cabinet. The unrelated volumes demonstrate the booksellers’ practice of gathering random unsold titles and offering the entire group (the “job lot”) at a discounted price. Peto’s close-up view provides a telling and realistic record of the cast-offs of commerce at the turn of the century.

This painting presents a pile of books hastily arranged in a cabinet. The unrelated volumes demonstrate the booksellers’ practice of gathering random unsold titles and offering the entire group (the “job lot”) at a discounted price. Peto’s close-up view provides a telling and realistic record of the cast-offs of commerce at the turn of the century.

The Cup We All Race 4 presents a visual rebus and pushes painting beyond representation to question the boundaries between reality and illusion. The central boards—with their hook and nails, tin cup, and incised letters—are painted on the canvas. But the painting’s frame is made of actual wooden boards, painted to match those depicted. The artist’s game is made even more convincing by the realistic scale of all these objects and the mysterious title.

In this trompe l’oeil painting, the viewer is shown a set of evocative objects, suggesting an encapsulation of a person’s life as seen through their belongings. A life-sized banjo hanging on a wall is surrounded by personal effects (maybe even the artist’s own): sheet music, a crumpled hat, a peacock feather, and a pair of photographs of two boxers and a pretty young woman (an empty spot suggests another photo or card has been ripped away).

In this trompe l’oeil painting, the viewer is shown a set of evocative objects, suggesting an encapsulation of a person’s life as seen through their belongings. A life-sized banjo hanging on a wall is surrounded by personal effects (maybe even the artist’s own): sheet music, a crumpled hat, a peacock feather, and a pair of photographs of two boxers and a pretty young woman (an empty spot suggests another photo or card has been ripped away).

In this brutal caricature of Whistler’s creditor, Frederick Richards Leyland is portrayed as a horrifying reptilian peacock. He sits atop a model of the White House, Whistler’s home and studio, where this picture was hung to greet the officials who would be arriving to officially inspect the property after he declared bankruptcy. The words on the sheet music include selective capitalization, calling out Leyland’s initials and identifying him as the model for the monster.

In this brutal caricature of Whistler’s creditor, Frederick Richards Leyland is portrayed as a horrifying reptilian peacock. He sits atop a model of the White House, Whistler’s home and studio, where this picture was hung to greet the officials who would be arriving to officially inspect the property after he declared bankruptcy. The words on the sheet music include selective capitalization, calling out Leyland’s initials and identifying him as the model for the monster.

Anshutz portrayed a group of workers at a nail factory in Wheeling, West Virginia. The workers are displayed across a shallow foreground, while the colossal foundry stretches as far as the eye can see behind them. Anshutz began the preparatory drawings for this picture during one of his yearly visits to see family in Wheeling. Increasing mechanization posed a threat to skilled American workers such as those depicted by Anshutz.

In this portrait, Duveneck emphasized his sitter’s striking beauty. His interpretation of his model focuses attention on her dark eyes, glittering gold headpiece, opalescent pearl necklace, large hoop earrings, and Turkish vest. Her skin, carefully modeled in tones of tan and pink, radiates with realistic warmth. Duveneck gave this picture as a Christmas gift to his student and future wife Elizabeth Boott, who, in her own paintings, also often portrayed women in elaborate costumes from other cultures.