William Glackens (American, 1870-1938). <em>Girl with Apple</em>, 1909-1910. Oil on canvas, 39 7/16 x 56 3/16 in. (100.2 x 142.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 56.70 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.70_SL1.jpg)

William Glackens (American, 1870-1938). Girl with Apple, 1909-1910. Oil on canvas, 39 7/16 x 56 3/16 in. (100.2 x 142.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 56.70 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.70_SL1.jpg)

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What if it was a tomato and not an apple? Would the meaning of this work change?

Ha! What a great question! I think it would change the meaning.

The apple has thousands of years of symbolism behind it, especially in relation to the Bible and the fall of man. Eve plucks the fruit from the tree of knowledge, usually depicted as an apple.

So a nude woman holding an apple has seductive and disobedient connotations—even though she's clearly a contemporary lady (see her fashionable large hat and the Rococo Revival sofa she lies on). Glackens seems to be presenting her to us as a modern-day Eve!

Ah yes. My kind of lady.

Can you tell me who has owned it in the past and when the museum acquired it?

It debuted in 1910 at the "Exhibition of Independent Artists," an unjuried display open to all "intended as a venue for progressive works of art." It stayed in the artist's family until the Museum purchased it through a dealer in 1956.

Girl with Apple

William Glackens

American Art

Is this a modern Eve about to take a bite of the apple? William Glackens certainly counted on his viewers to make that association. Many of his models were young women earning their living in New York by entering the workforce in an expanding labor market. Glackens offered a fresh American update on the subject of the nude studio model by including a modern woman and fashionable contemporary attire. In paraphrasing one of France’s most famous paintings, Édouard Manet’s Olympia, he also aligned this work with one that was daring in its own time.

ARTIST William Glackens, American, 1870-1938

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES 1909-1910

DIMENSIONS 39 7/16 x 56 3/16 in. (100.2 x 142.7 cm) frame: 46 3/4 x 63 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (118.7 x 161.9 x 7 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed lower left: "W. Glackens"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 56.70

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION William Glackens (American, 1870-1938). Girl with Apple, 1909-1910. Oil on canvas, 39 7/16 x 56 3/16 in. (100.2 x 142.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 56.70 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.70_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 56.70_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

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