On View
On viewObject number2012.62
Trout
Artist
Grafton Tyler Brown
(American, 1841-1918)
Date1886
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsframe: 37 3/8 × 25 5/8 × 7/8 in. (94.9 × 65.1 × 2.2 cm)
Credit LineAcquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor
Exhibition History"Copley to Kentridge: What's New in the Collection?," KIA (Sept.14 - Dec. 1, 2013).
"Embracing Diverse Voices," version of KIA traveling exhibition loaned to Keene State Univ. (Fall 2014)
"Resilience: African American Artists as Agents of Change," at the KIA (September 14, 2019 - February 16, 2020)
"Common Ground: African American Art from the Flint Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art," FIA, Flint, Michigan (Feb. 8 - Apr. 26, 2015), KIA, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (Aug. 21 - Nov. 15, 2015), Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan ().
"Embracing Diverse Voices: A Century of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, North Carolina Central University Art Museum (October 7 - December 12, 2016).
"Unveiling American Genius," KIA Permanent Collection Exhibition, Traditional, Markin, Nay and Groos Galleries (March 1, 2021 - December 31, 2023).Label TextTrompe-l’oeil (literally, “fool the eye”) is a category of still-life painting popular in America between 1880 and 1900. Popular variations pictured a door to which were affixed hunting equipment, game, creased papers, and numerous other objects to enhance the illusion.
Grafton Tyler Brown’s more spare approach directs attention to the trout’s rose blush, spotted skin, and delicately fanning fins. Against the painted wood-grain background, Brown’s trout is not presented as a trophy of the fisherman’s prowess or even of the trompe-l’oeil painter’s virtuosity, but as a native creature of the American wilderness. The carefully rendered trout becomes an icon, presented for contemplation.
Originally from Philadelphia, Brown is recognized as the first Black artist working professionally in the American West. For over 20 years he made commercial prints of mining communities and other new settlements—essentially documenting America’s westward expansion.
During this time, he became interested in the preservation of America’s natural beauty. Trout was painted in a pivotal year, when Brown was shifting his focus from commercial
lithography to the landscape painting for which he is best known: scenic views that recorded the still pristine beauty of Yellowstone and the American West.
