Study of Pair of Speckled Brook Trout (Study of Brook Trout)
James Henry Cafferty, American, 1819 - 1869
1869
Oil on canvas
Overall: 24 1/8 × 14 3/4 in. (61.2 × 37.4 cm)
Frame: 30 7/16 × 20 1/16 in. (77.3 × 51 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Frank P. Stetz in memory of David Stewart Hull, Class of 1960
P.2004.83.16
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
On view
Inscriptions
Signed, in red pigment, lower left: JH Cafferty . NA
Label
Why did James Henry Cafferty render these fish in such painstaking detail? When Cafferty exhibited his fish paintings, he referred to them as “portraits.” On the canvas featuring two fish, the larger appears identical to the lone fish in the other painting. This suggests the animal’s individuality even though these canvases were painted six years apart. A feathery red fishing lure dangles at the lower left in both paintings, further cementing the relationship between the two artworks, as well as the two fish. How does thinking about the fish as a distinct, once-living being change our perception of the animal?
From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023
Exhibition History
Cafferty Memorial Show, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1869-1870.
Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-June 16, 2024.
Provenance
Richard Opfer Auctioneering, Inc., Timonium, Maryland, October 19, 1995, Lot 64; sold to David Stewart Hull; bequeathed to Frank P. Stetz, New York, New York, 1998; given to present collection, 2004.
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