From October 1925 to May 1926, Rothko was enrolled in a still-life class at the Art Students League of New York taught by Max Weber (1881–1961). This work is reminiscent of still lifes by Paul Cézanne (1839–1906, fig. 1), an artist championed by Weber, and may date from that period. A similar still life painted by Rothko in oil on canvas board dating from c. 1926 is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art (fig. 2).
1. Paul Cézanne, Still Life with Milk Jug and Fruit, c. 1900, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Gift of the W. Averell Harriman Foundation in memory of Marie N. Harriman.