Inspiring pictures for writers – breakfast by Bertha Leonard

I love the detail of the table (what’s going on with the sugar bowl?) and the background. At first sight it seems to be a conventional domestic interior until you realise that the perspective warps and forces you to focus. The slice of water melon is about a third the size of the odd-looking cooker and while it looks right where it is, surely it is pretty sloppy housekeeping to leave it in the middle of the floor. I’d love to get close and study it in detail, but this is all we have and, as it stands, it is an invitation not to take the ho-hum of everyday routine at face value.

I haven’t been able to find out much about Bertha Leonard, except that she was a popular artist in the Philadelphia area since the 1970s. Born and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, she was quoted as saying that she painted her home town as “10 percent realistic, and 90 percent imaginary.” Not a bad recipe for a story…

5 comments on “Inspiring pictures for writers – breakfast by Bertha Leonard”

suzannebowditch
November 25, 2016

Fab pic 🙂

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- bridget whelan
  November 25, 2016
  
  I love it!
  
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C.J. Black
November 25, 2016

Reblogged this on Same Train, Different Track.

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Rebecca Watts
March 31, 2026

Hi there, I just found your page after trying to find more about Bertha Leonard myself because I have a calendar page from the 80s (I think) that I had pulled out and framed. I always loved the quirkiness of the image — a woman who’s been reading in a clawfoot tub reaching over to pet her dog who stands beside the tub.

Regarding the picture you’re talking about, I believe the watermelon on the floor may be meant to be one of those little half circular rugs meant for in front of the kitchen sink or stove. Often rendered as a half an orange or a lemon– or a slice of watermelon.

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- bridget whelan
  April 1, 2026
  
  Of course it’s a rug! I am ashamed that I once thought it could be sloppy housekeeping…Glad you came by. I would love to see more Bertha Leonard paintings
  
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This entry was posted on November 25, 2016 by bridget whelan in Inspiring pictures, Uncategorized and tagged Atlantic City, Bertha Leonard, Inspiring pictures, Paintings of ordinary life.

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