Frederick Papsdorf (1887 - 1978)

Fruits and Vegetables, 1948, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 24 x 30 inches, exhibited in Painting in the United States 1948, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, October 14th - December 12, 1948 (label verso); provenance includes Perls Gallery (New York) and Henry and Star Papsdorf (annotated verso), presented in its original frame

$8500

Fruits and Vegetables is one of Frederick Papsdorf's most significant works, owing to it large size (his still life paintings are normally much smaller) and exhibition history at the Carnegie Institute (Carnegie) in 1948. It is a prime example of the 1930s and 40s impulse to look for American modernism in the works of naive artists who invoked traditional objects and forms to find a usable past. Largely untrained, Papsdorf recalled in connection with his inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art's ground-breaking 1943 exhibition, American Realists and Magic Realists, "This, I can assure you, is a pleasure, as Art is my heart and soul. As I paint I take particular pains to make the picture realistic . . . In all these things we must be able to see, . . . study and learn how fine and beautiful mother nature has shaped and colored them for us."

Born in Dover, Ohio, Papsdorf was brought up in New Buffalo, Michigan. As a child, he drew, but did not take up painting seriously until he was nearly fifty years old. In 1935, he took an evening art class at the Detroit Art Institute, but left formal training behind when he teacher advised him against academic instruction lest he lose the innate freshness of his work. Through much of his adult life, Papsdorf worked in the shipping department of the Borden Milk Company, allowing him to paint only after 9 pm upon his return from work. He was a member of the Progressive Art Club of Detroit and his work was well received in both commercial galleries and institutions. In addition to the Carnegie where he exhibited four years in a row in the late 1940s, Papsdorf was shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art (Whitney), the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). He was represented by New York's Perls Gallery. His works are in the permanent collections of the Whitney, PAFA, MOMA, Carnegie, and the Detroit Art Institute, among others. He is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and other standard references.