Flower Still Life in a Basket 

This "Flower Still Life in a Basket" by Helen Augusta Hamburger uses oil paint to mimic the freshness and fragility of its floral subject. Hamburger has arrayed roses, thistles and other blooms in a carefully woven basket, setting them against a soft landscape backdrop. The oil paint is manipulated to convey different textures, from the velvety petals to the prickly thorns. The basket itself is a study in humble craft, its woven structure built from individual strands worked together. Consider the labor involved, both in cultivating the garden and in making the basket. In the 19th century, when Hamburger was active, women were often associated with these forms of patient, domestic work. Ultimately, the painting invites us to consider the value we place on natural beauty, the labor required to cultivate it, and the craft traditions that frame our experience of it.