COLLECTION NAME:
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
mediaCollectionId
ArtArtHiAAH~7~7
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
Collection
true
Image Record ID:
aahi0000377
image_record_id
aahi0000377
Image Record ID
false
Work Title (display):
Still Life: After the Hunt
Image Title:
full view
Work Dates (display):
1885
Work Dates type:
creation
Work Creator (display):
William Michael Harnett (American, 1848-1892)
Work Creator gender:
male
work_creator_or_agent_gender
male
Work Creator gender
false
Work Creator notes (display):
American painter. He was brought up in a family of artisans in Philadelphia and was trained as an engraver of silverware. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy, he moved to New York in 1869 and worked as an engraver while continuing his studies at the Cooper Union. In 1875 he exhibited at the National Academy of Design while supporting himself by painting small, precise still-lifes. He returned to Philadelphia in 1876 and by 1880 had saved enough for a European tour. He settled in Munich, working there and in Paris for six years and returning permanently to New York in 1886. Although he had no pupils, Harnett was the most influential American still-life painter of the last quarter of the 19th century. Until about 1880 his works were simple table-top still-lifes in the trompe l'oeil tradition of Raphaelle Peale. Set against dark, shallow backgrounds, they consisted of mugs, pipes, books, newspapers, currency, letters and writing materials, as in Writing Table (1877; Philadelphia, PA, Mus. A.). Carefully composed and balanced with realistic colour, precise detail and smooth brushwork, they reflect his training as an engraver. The Artist's Letter Rack (1879; New York, Met.) is a form of bulletin board with various flat objects tickets, clippings, receipts, visiting-cards, stampshaphazardly attached to a wooden board by a criss-crossing network of tapes. This format, widely copied in American painting, had its roots in Dutch 17th-century art. In Munich, Harnett's scale became almost miniature. He took as his subject-matter more precious objects: antique lamps, elaborate tankards and leather-bound books are arranged in pyramidal fashion against dark and undefined backgrounds. Harnett's most famous painting, After the Hunt (San Francisco, CA Pal. Legion of Honor), the last and largest version of four, was painted in Paris and exhibited there to considerable acclaim in the Salon of 1885. The following year he sold it to Theodore Stewart to display in his New York saloon, where it spawned hundreds of imitations. A large and minutely detailed trompe l'oeil, it is a trophy-type composition of dead birds, game and hunting accoutrements affixed to a battered wooden door. Harnett's late works include many paintings of single objects set against a green wooden door. The Faithful Colt (1890; Hartford, CT, Wadsworth Atheneum) consists of a single revolver hanging against the door, with a newspaper clipping below. Plucked Clean (1882; Chicago, IL, A. Inst.) features a scrawny chicken, plucked except for a few tufts of down; a rare glimmer of humour is implied in the title. The Old Violin (1886; priv. col., see Frankenstein, 1953, pl. 60), Music and Good Luck (1888; New York, Met.; see Illusionism, fig. 2) and Old Cupboard Door (1889; Sheffield, Graves A.G.), like most of his work, are infused with a gentle melancholy. Harnett, like his contemporary trompe l'oeil painters, received little official attention. The sale of his studio took place at Thomas Birch & Sons, Philadelphia, 234 February 1893. After his work was rediscovered by the Downtown Gallery, New York, in 1939, many forgeries of his paintings appeared, among them genuine compositions by John F. Peto to which Harnett's signature had been added. Frankenstein (1949) identified Harnett's genuine oeuvre. (Grove Art Online Accessed 2006-07-26)
Work Style Period:
19th century
work_styleperiod
19th century
Work Style Period
false
Work Subject:
firearms
subject
firearms
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
doors
subject
doors
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
antlers
subject
antlers
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
hunting horns
subject
hunting horns
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
guns, hunting
subject
guns, hunting
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
hunting
subject
hunting
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
trompe-l'oeil
subject
trompe-l'oeil
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
game and game-birds
subject
game and game-birds
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
still lifes
subject
still lifes
Work Subject
false
Work Subject:
hats
subject
hats
Work Subject
false
Work Worktype:
oil paintings
work_type
oil paintings
Work Worktype
false
Work Worktype:
paintings (visual works)
work_type
paintings (visual works)
Work Worktype
false
Work Category (VRC classification):
paintings
work_category__ucbaahvrc_classification_
paintings
Work Category (VRC classification)
false
Work Material and Technique (display):
oil on canvas
Work Measurements (display):
191 cm (H) x 123.2 cm (W)
Work Inscription (display):
Signed; Dated
Work Location (Repository or Site) name:
M.H. De Young Memorial Museum
Work Location (Repository or Site) role:
repository
Work Location (Repository or Site) refid:
1940.93
Work Location (Repository or Site) refid type:
accession
Work Location (Geographic) name:
San Francisco, California
Image Rights (display):
© Ronald Wiedenhoeft. Licensed for educational use via Scholars Resource: Saskia, Ltd.
Image Rights license agreement:
SASKIA, LTD.: WHO CAN USE THIS SOFTWARE: (a) Licensee, including faculty, staff and currently enrolled students may use the Licensed Software to display and or print the corresponding graphic images without limitation for teaching and research purposes at the defined Sites, or at remote locations having electronic access to your Site(s). (b) This license include permission to use the Licensed Software on a multi-user network at the defined Site, and to permit remote access to a computer/server located at your Site. Simultaneous display in multiple locations at or connected to the Site is also permitted. (c) Licensee agrees to employ reasonable security measures designed to limit access to your faculty, staff and currently enrolled students. PROHIBITED USES AND LIMITATIONS: (a) Saskia hereby reserves all rights not expressly granted herein. (b) the License Software may not be used for preparaiton of any publication, scholarly or otherwise; or for any purpose other than teaching or research. Publication of an image from the Licensed Software requires a separate license from Saskia. (c) Licensee agrees not to resell, lease, transfer, sub-license or otherwise distribute a copy of the Licensed Software, or any image taken from the Licensed Software, in whole or in part. (d) Licensee also agrees not to modify, corrupt or alter any digital image graphic content or "digital watermark" or the like in the software provided by Saskia under this Agreement. (e) Licensee agrees not to remove, alter, cover or distort Saskia's copyright notice, trademark, or other proprietary rights notice placed by Saskia in the Licensed Software itself, or in the associated packaging, media or documentation. (f) And Licensee agrees to notify users of the Licensed Software, in writing or by sign-on screen display, of their obligations under this Agreement and solicit their cooperation and compliance with such obligations.
Work Rights (display):
public domain
Terms of Agreement and Conditions of Use:
YOU AGREE: Luna Imaging's Insight Software and the digital image collection associated with it (the Software) are being provided by the University of Colorado under the following license. By obtaining, using, and/or copying this work, you (the Licensee) agree that you have read, understood, and will comply with the following terms and conditions. 1. The Software contains the University of Colorado's Department of Art and Art History's implementation of a digital image collection; 2. Any images obtained through use of the Software will be used only for non-profit, educational purposes; 3. The use of images obtained through the software will only be used while the Licensee is either: a) an employee of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver, or b) an enrolled student at the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver, or the Community College of Denver; 4. When the Licensee is no longer an employee or student of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or Community College of Denver, either by an action of the University of Colorado, Metropolitan State College of Denver or the Community College of Denver or due to actions of the Licensee, the licensee will cease to use any images exported from the Department of Art and Art History's digital image collection; 5. The Licensee agrees to indemnify the University for claims and liability arising out of the use of the Software or for any violations of this license; 6. THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SUPPLIES THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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Holding Institution:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Collection:
Art and Art History Visual Resources Center
Collection info and contact:
For information about this collection, see