Eggplant and Plums

Charles Demuth's "Eggplant and Plums" (1921/33) is a watercolor with graphite on ivory wove paper that demonstrates his mastery of the still life genre. The painting shows a simple arrangement of eggplant and plums, their deep purple skins rendered with watercolor washes of remarkable richness and subtlety. The graphite underdrawing provides the structure, while the watercolor builds the forms through layers of translucent color. The date range 1921/33 suggests that Demuth may have worked on this piece over many years or that the dating is uncertain. The subject—vegetables and fruit arranged on a tabletop—is a classic still life motif that connects Demuth to the long tradition of European still life painting from Chardin to Cézanne. But his treatment is distinctively modern: the forms are simplified, the colors are intensified, the composition is cropped and flattened. Demuth's still life watercolors are among the most accomplished in American art, combining European tradition with American precision.

Demuth's still life watercolors represent a high point in American watercolor painting, demonstrating the medium's potential for richness, subtlety, and expressive power.

This watercolor of eggplant and plums transforms a simple kitchen subject into a study of form and color, the rich purple washes demonstrating Demuth's extraordinary command of the watercolor medium.