Fruit and a Tankard

Born in Philadelphia in 1805, Joseph Biays Ord began as a portraitist but devoted the majority of his career to still lifes—typically including compositions featuring fruits alongside antique or foreign objects. Drawing inspiration from both the Peale family and Dutch still-life paintings, he is credited with the continued popularity of the genre into the mid-19^th century. Ord’s still lifes were widely exhibited, with showings at the Pennsylvania Academy from 1824 to 1862, New York’s National Academy, and the American Art-Union. Ord’s work can be found in the Reading Public Museum, Pennsylvania.