Godel & Co. is pleased to announce the exhibition An American Vision, on view at the New York gallery from October 11 to November 15. Featuring recent highlights from the gallery’s holdings of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art, the exhibition includes paintings by John Atherton, Frank Benson, Albert Bierstadt, Jasper Cropsey, Victor Dubreuil, Ernest Fiene, Robert Gwathmey, Joe Jones, Willard Metcalf, Thomas Moran, Severin Roesen, A. F. Tait, Dwight Tryon, and Guy Wiggins. A 112-page, full-color catalogue is available.

Of particular note is a remarkable trompe-l’oeil still life by Victor Dubreuil (c. 1840 – after 1908) titled Barrels of Money. Dubreuil specialized in still lifes of currency, which he depicted in a variety of humorous ways—stuffed in barrels, stacked in a safe, and even being stolen by bank robbers. His paintings ran afoul of the federal authorities: Dubreuil faced counterfeiting charges for one painting, and the Secret Service reportedly confiscated and destroyed another. One of several known versions of the subject, the gallery’s Barrels of Money depicts four barrels overflowing with bills of various denominations that date to the 1890s.

A unique feature of this painting is the shadow in the lower left corner, which appears to depict an unseen hand reaching for the bills stacked on the floor.

Open House:  Saturday, October 20, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.

Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday by appointment