Walter Brackett Fisherman's Reward

Walter M. Brackett is an American Artist that was born in the 1820’s. Throughout his life, he produced multiple works of art, most of which depicted the rewards of fishing. In Fisherman’s Reward, he continues this theme by creating a scene near a river. He uses oil on canvas to create this naturalist still. In this still, he portrays a basket that is on a slight hill, with fish that have fallen out of the basket and slid down the top of the basket towards the water. This implies that the fisherman has caught these fish earlier on that day. The scenery is the bank of a river with some small shrubbery, and trees nearby, with the ground covered in dark green grass. Although it seem like just a picture of fish near a river, Brackett creates something much more than that. Through the use of the elements and principles to the content of the art, Walter M. Brackett’s Fisherman’s Reward is a piece that will bring back memories of fishing.
He is able to achieve unity through the use of both the composition and the physical layout of the painting. However, the physical layout is the more important of the two. The composition is composed of many different formal elements. The source of light is coming from a setting sun from the other side of the river. This is evident by the dimly lit shrubbery and the shadows casted by the fishing pole. This shadow is created by increasing the value of the oils pigment. The overall colors of the painting are very dark and dull with the exception of the fish who have a natural white-grey stomach. The dark and dull coloring makes the viewer feel as if the fisherman is worn out from a long day in the hot sun. Specifically, the grass and shrubs are a dark green, and the basket is composed of two different values of a brown pigment which continues to support the feeling of