Dahlias and Asters
1912
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 51.12 × 35.88 cm (20 1/8 × 14 1/8 in.) framed: 59.69 × 44.45 × 4.45 cm (23 1/2 × 17 1/2 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Joan B. Detweiler)
Accession Number
2014.136.85
Art Historical Context
**Dahlias and Asters** (1912) by Charles Sheeler captures the vibrant beauty of a floral still life in oil on canvas, measuring 51.12 × 35.88 cm. Rendered with a keen eye for texture and light, this intimate painting showcases blooming dahlias and asters arranged in a simple composition, highlighting Sheeler's early mastery of form and color. Created when the artist was in his late twenties, it reflects his initial foray into fine art after studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he absorbed influences from European modernists like Cézanne. Sheeler, later renowned for Pre...
About the Artist
Charles Sheeler
Charles Sheeler (1883–1965), born Charles Rettew Sheeler Jr. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began his artistic training at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art from 1900 to 1903, where he studied industrial drawing and applied arts. He continued at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1903 to 1906, studying under the Impressionist painter William Merritt Chase. Trips to Europ...