Oil on canvas, indistinctly signed and dated at lower right, an opulent table-top still life featuring melons, grapes, peaches, and plums surrounding a sliced watermelon staked with a knife; housed in a period gilt frame.

SS 24.5 x 29 in.; DOA 31 x 36 in.

Private Collection Louis Amelia Wightman (1822-1855), by descent.

This composition bears striking resemblance to two still life studies by Thomas Wightman in the collection of the Gibbes Museum, Charleston, South Carolina. Another similarly composed still life by William Wightman, Thomas' younger brother, is illustrated in Gerdts' book AMERICAN STILL LIFE PAINTING.

$3,000 - 5,000