American, 1913, Gouache on paper

Gift of Felicia Meyer Marsh

Herbert Meyer married a fellow struggling artist, Anne Norton in 1907. In this painting, Anne is depicted in a tattered apartment with water stained walls and a messy bed facing away from the painter. Meyer and Norton were struggling artists prior to moving to Dorset, Vermont, who supported themselves by doing commercial illustration. The ragged scene depicted mirrors their financial struggles.

Bread is a universal food and has many meanings attached from fertility, to plenty, to civilization. Bread is often the core of the meals and is considered a food that prevents starvation. Breakfast became an established meal in the 18^th to 20^th century consisting of morning hot drink, such as tea and few biscuits or bread. Paintings throughout the eighteenth century often served breakfast in bedrooms, which was typical of upper-class homes. However, in the 19^th and 20^th century breakfast became a meal based on family in the lower and middle classes.