Burnished gold, the tone prominent in Still Life With Yellow Roses (cover), resonates with luxury, old wealth, and the suggestion of turning autumn leaves. The simple arrangement, of loose flowers and household items, was painted in the European tradition by Danish native (Soren) Emil Carlsen (1853-1932). Carlsen spent most of his adult life in the United States; before settling in his midtown Manhattan home and studio, Carlsen studied in Paris, beginning in 1875. He revisited the French capital from 1884 to 1886 in between teaching stints in Chicago, at what would become the School of the Art Institute, and in San Francisco (the California School of Design). Like so many of his contemporaries, he absorbed the French Impressionist techniques that had their genesis in the late 1860s. Carlsen incorporated this fresh manner into his paintings, especially his landscapes ( JAMA cover, April 9, 2008) and his marine paintings. However, Carlsen's primary French influence was the work of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the 18th-century master of still life painting.