Revered as one of Pittsburgh's premier portrait artists well into his eighties, Albert F. King is now remembered mostly for his meticulously realistic still life works, such as watermelons with a wedge missing, apples falling from a basket or strawberries spilling out of a chip basket.

Born in 1854, King was the product of Catholic parents forced to flee Germany to escape religious persecution. When they arrived in Pittsburgh, they changed their last name from Konig to King to avoid any further religious bias against Catholics. As an artist, their son was primarily self-taught, although he did study for a time under fellow Scalp Level School* member Martin Leisser.

Much in demand as a portrait painter by the prominent citizen...