William J. McCloskey: Wrapped Oranges

Wrapped Oranges: William J. McCloskey

Wrapped Oranges is an 1889 realist still-life painting by American artist William J. McCloskey.

McCloskey (1859-1941) was an American portraitist who also painted still lifes, particularly of fruit, in the Realist tradition. This picture reveals McCloskey’s almost obsessive attention to the details of the form and appearance of the oranges as the light from the top left falls on the spherical surfaces.

There is also a contrast of textures, between the sheer surface of the table that dimly reflects the fruit, the fruit themselves, and the protective crinkled paper that encloses four of the oranges.

William J. McCloskey’s Wrapped Oranges is in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas.

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