De Scott Evans (1847-1898)

The trompe l'oeil paintings by De Scott Evans are considered among the finest examples of 19th century still life painting. De Scott Evans, who favored a variety of pseudonyms such as S.S. David, Stanley S. David and Scott David, often painted objects in illustionist niches, such as the present work. Of the variety of objects available to the artist, peanuts appear most frequently in his trompe l'oeil paintings. After the Civil War peanuts became an important commercial commodity in the United States and would become ideal subjects for 19th century still life artists.