William M. HarnettIn his short but productive career, William Michael Harnett (1848-1892) became the great American master of trompe-l'oeil still-life painting. His works, popular with the public long before they were appreciated by the art critics, "fool the eye" with their convincing, sharp-edged definition of form and careful rendering of materials. This volume provides the first thorough examination of Harnett's career and its significance for the history of American art. Twenty-two essays by a roster of leading scholars examine three major areas: Harnett's relationship to his contemporaries, among them painters, patrons, critics, and the general public; his formative training and experiences; and the meaning of his themes for the audience that supported him. These essays discuss not only Harnett's own technical skill and artistic development, but also the aesthetic issues of illusionism and trompe l'oeil, Harnett's relationship to other painters working in a similar vein, and the implications of his subject matter. Ultimately, the essays help to resolve the question of how Harnett's technically skillful imitations of real objects fit the definition of "art" and what his popularity says about the culture in which he worked and lived. Each of the editors has written an essay for this volume; other contributors include Henry Adams, Maria Chamberlin-Hellman, Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Elizabeth Jane Connell, William H. Gerdts, Elizabeth Johns, Judy L. Larson, David M. Lubin, Chad Mandeles, Roxana Robinson, and Paul J. Staiti. The forty-nine works reproduced in full color and arranged chronologically provide the first comprehensive survey of Harnett's work. A bibliography, chronology, and thorough index addto the reference value of this handsome volume. |
Contents
The Artists Working Methods | 159 |
Harnett and Photography | 177 |
The Late Years | 185 |
Copyright | |
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Academy of Design aesthetic Alfred Frankenstein American Art Journal American Painting American Still-Life Painting Amon Carter Museum Annual Exhibition antique Archives of American Art Gallery Art Museum artist Barr Blemly scrapbook bric-a-brac career Catalogue century composition critical culture deception depicted display Doreen Bolger Eakins engraver exhib Faithful Colt Farge Farge's frame Frankenstein Papers fruit Gerdts Halpert Harnett's paintings Harnett's pictures Hunt Ibid illusion illusionism illusionistic included James Job Lot Cheap John Frederick Peto John Haberle John La Farge John Wanamaker l'oeil London Metropolitan Museum Michael Harnett Collection models Munich Museum of Art National Academy newspaper nineteenth nineteenth-century objects Oil on canvas Old Cupboard Door Old Violin Painted Like Real painter patrons Pennsylvania Academy Peto Philadelphia photographs quoted in Frankenstein sheet music style tabletop Taylor Snow Thomas Thomas Eakins tion Trompe trompe-l'oeil underdrawing University vanitas viewer Violin Wadsworth Atheneum William Harnett William Michael Harnett York