Excess and the Everyday

Still life has proved a popular subject in Western art since the 17^th century. Historic still life paintings frequently pictured luxury items of the day in order to celebrate material pleasures such as food and wine, as well as to warn of the temporality of these pleasures and the brevity of human life.

Since the late 19^th century, artists and makers have generally used simpler still life arrangements as a way of demonstrating skill or for formal experimentation. Some examples of still life from the Shipley’s painting and craft collections are on display in this gallery.