William Michael Harnett

1848-1892

American Artist

Harnett was born in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland. He moved with his family to Philadelphia in 1849. He was trained as an engraver, and subsequently worked for several jewelry and silver manufacturers in New York from 1869 to 1875. During this time Harnett also studied painting at the Cooper Union and National Academy of Design; he continued his artistic training in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1876-78). In 1880 the artist traveled to Europe, visiting London and Frankfurt before settling in Munich, where he resided from 1881 to 1885. Harnett stopped in Paris for several months before returning to New York in 1886. Harnett was almost exclusively a painter of still lifes. He is most famous for his trompe l'oeil paintings, clever illusions that convince the viewer that he is looking at the actual objects, rather than at a painted recreation.