Raphaelle Peale hailed from a family of Philadelphia artists highly regarded as skilled portraitists, including his brother Rembrandt, whose portraits of the Washingtons hang nearby. Raphaelle, however, developed an affinity for still-life painting and, despite his father’s initial disapproval, persevered and effectively established the genre in America. This is one of his earliest signed and dated paintings.

The Peale family’s experimental farm featured heated greenhouses, providing Raphaelle with the luxury of painting fruits and flowers even when they were out of season. These peaches sit in a porcelain export basket, a costly item that signaled to viewers of the day the world of prosperity brought about by scientific developments and international trade.