Charles Demuth

Robert E. Locher, New York (acquired by bequest from the artist in 1935)

Richard W.C. Weyand, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (acquired in 1956)

Estate of the above

Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, October 16, 1957, lot 71 (consigned by the above)

Babcock Galleries, New York (acquired from the above)

Rita & Daniel Fraad, Westchester, New York (acquired from the above in 1957)

Sotheby's New York, December 1, 2004, lot 9 (consigned by the above)

Wolf Family Collection No. 1224 (acquired from the above)

Emily Edna Farnham, Charles Demuth: His Life, Psychology and Works, vol. II, Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1959, no. 478, pp. 600-01 (as Red Pepper and Tomatoes)

Alvord L. Eiseman, A Study of the Development of an Artist: Charles Demuth, Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, New York, 1975, p. 400 (as Red Pepper and Tomatoes)

Thomas E. Norton, ed., Homage to Charles Demuth: Still Life Painter of Lancaster, Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 1978, p. 7, illustrated (as Red Pepper and Tomatoes)

Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum & Andover, Massachusetts, Phillips Academy, Addison Gallery of American Art, American Painting: Selections from the Collection of Daniel and Rita Fraad, 1964, no. 59, p. 69

New York, The Gallery of Modern Art, Major 19th and 20th Century Drawings, 1965

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 200 Years of Watercolor Painting in America: An Exhibition Commemorating the Centennial of the American Watercolor Society, 1966-67, no. 201, p. 20

Fort Worth, Texas, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, American Paintings, Watercolors, and Drawings from the Collection of Rita and Daniel Fraad, 1985, no. 48, pp. 100-01, illustrated

Charles Demuth is widely regarded as one of the most talented watercolorists in the history of American art. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his still life compositions. With a discerning eye and sharp attention to detail, Demuth faithfully depicts familiar objects with liveliness and modernity that are quintessential to him. Pepper and Tomatoes exemplifies Demuth's mastery of color and form. With minimal context and in almost exclusively shades of red, he conveys remarkable depth and luminosity. The simplicity of his forms and confidence of his lines possess an energy that is distinctly modern.