Green Plums

Joseph Decker

National Gallery of Art

About two dozen round, pale green plums tumble out of an upended square wooden box onto a reflective, dark brown surface in this horizontal still life painting. Many of the plums have a frosty sheen and about half of them lie in a pile within the basket. The other dozen spill out of the box onto the wood tabletop. Most have stubby stems, and one, closest to us, has a longer stem with two browning leaves. The leaves and round fruit create reflections on the polished wood surface. The box was made by weaving broad sheets of light wood into a square. The layers are visible along the upper edge, which faces us. There are a few dark spots and imperfections in the wood. An ice-blue cloth hangs behind the box and crinkles in folds along the table. The artist signed the work in the lower right, “J.Decker.”