Raspberries, c. 1859

[1] The 1973 exhibition catalogue, Robin Bolton-Smith, William H. Truettner, and Cynthia D. Perlis, Lilly Martin Spencer, 1822-1902: The Joys of Sentiment, exh. cat., National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C., 1973: 198, proposed that the NGA painting may have been one of two still lifes of raspberries by Spencer, both of which are mentioned in a single letter of 17 November 1859 written to Spencer by a Mrs. Mellen, in which she requested a small, oval still life of raspberries in a brown basket or on a catalpa leaf similar to a rectangular painting with which she was familiar, owned by a “Mr. Beecher” (Lilly Martin Spencer papers, 1825-1971, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: Reel 131; copy in NGA curatorial files). Along with the letter in the Archives of American Art is a transcription that identifies the letter writer as Mrs. H.L. Mellen, as well as a note on the original letter in a different hand that identifies the writer as “sister of the Reverend Henery(sic) Ward Beecher.” It was thus assumed in the 1973 catalogue that one Spencer still life of raspberries was owned by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, and the other by his sister, Mrs. H.L. Mellen.

However, research by NGA intern Ashley E. Williams has determined that the transcription of the signature on the letter and the identification of the letter writer are incorrect. The signature actually reads “H.S. Mellen,” and while Beecher had several sisters, none were named H.L. or H.S. Mellen either before or after marriage. Williams identifies “H.S. Mellen” as possibly Helen Sanger Mellen, a member of Beecher’s church along with her husband, William H. Mellen. Williams also points out that the “Mr. Beecher” mentioned in the letter cannot be positively confirmed as Henry Ward Beecher, although it is quite possible. Mr. Beecher’s painting is probably the Spencer still life of raspberries now in the collection of Widener University Art Gallery, Chester, Pennsylvania. See Williams’ research report of June 2019, in NGA curatorial files.

[2] This information, as well as the date and source of their purchase, was supplied by the donors.