John F. Francis
John F. Francis (1808–1886) was born in Philadelphia. Francis is best known for his luncheon and dessert Still life paintings. Francis’s paintings can be viewed in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Newark Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City and the Shelburne Museum, Vermont.
As James Thomas Flexner noted, "only in Pennsylvania was there a continuous still-life tradition... anchored in a single family" that of Charles Willson Peale. While Francis's familiarity with the Peale's work is debated, this unprecedented dynasty of still-life specialists, including the elder Peale's brother James, son Raphaelle, and five daughters and nieces, undoubtedly prepared the way for Joseph Biays Ord, Severin Roesen, and Francis. [1]
Francis initiated the revitalization of still life painting. He was largely a self-taught artist, producing some of America’s most important still lifes. His favorite subject in the 1860s was of luncheon feasts, showing a table spread with desserts, fruit and silver. [2]
