Study of Pair of Speckled Brook Trout (Study of Brook Trout)

Inscriptions

Signed, in red pigment, lower left: JH Cafferty . NA

Label

Why did James Henry Cafferty render these fish in such painstaking detail? When Cafferty exhibited his fish paintings, he referred to them as “portraits.” On the canvas featuring two fish, the larger appears identical to the lone fish in the other painting. This suggests the animal’s individuality even though these canvases were painted six years apart. A feathery red fishing lure dangles at the lower left in both paintings, further cementing the relationship between the two artworks, as well as the two fish. How does thinking about the fish as a distinct, once-living being change our perception of the animal?

From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Course History

First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Art History 40.01, American Art and Identity, Mary Coffey, Fall 2023

Creative Writing 10.02, Writing and Reading Fiction, Katherine Crouch, Fall 2023

Geography 11.01, Qualitative Methods, Emma Colven, Fall 2023

Geography 2.01, Introduction to Human Geography, Coleen Fox, Fall 2023

Geography 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Fall 2023

English 30.01, African and African American Studies 34.01, Early Black American LIterature, Michael Chaney, Winter 2024

Writing 5.06, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

Writing 5.07, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

Exhibition History

Cafferty Memorial Show, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1869-1870.

Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-November 24, 2024.

Provenance

Richard Opfer Auctioneering, Inc., Timonium, Maryland, October 19, 1995, Lot 64; sold to David Stewart Hull; bequeathed to Frank P. Stetz, New York, New York, 1998; given to present collection, 2004.

This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.

We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu

Subjects