Anne Vallayer-Coster (French, 1744–1818), Basket of Plums, 1769. Oil on canvas. Unframed: 38 x 46.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1971.47.

The artist painted a companion to this work—a plate of peaches and branch of cherries.

During the later part of the 1700s, fruit still lifes were extremely popular, and a basket of plums was a common motif. In Vallayer's painting the details, especially the plums and the basket, emerge from deep shadows. The colors are vivid reds and violets and a sense of immediacy is invoked by the growing moss, the cakes in their crisp papers, and the glass of water with its sparkling highlights and reflections.