Still Life--Writing Table.
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Larger Image |
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Title |
Still Life--Writing Table. |
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Creator |
Harnett, William Michael (American painter, 1848-1892) |
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Date |
1877 |
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Cultural Context |
American
North American |
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Subject |
Still lifes
Business & finance
Tables
Books
Encyclopedias & dictionaries
Geography
Money
Coins
Greenbacks
Correspondence
Pens
Writing materials
Envelopes |
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Description |
“In The Writing Table, eight meticulously described items are arranged on a cool green trompe-l’oeiled marble slab: a hefty leather-bound tome; a small shiny gold or copper coin; a sparkling silver coin; a roll of well-worn five-dollar bills; a folded, handwritten letter; a quill pen; a postmarked envelope; and a smudged ink pot. What is readable of the letter suggests business correspondence, which can be pieced together thus: “received you[r] … early part of last mo[nth] and was extremely glad to hear that [yo]u had succe[ss] reflecting ….” The book, a geographical index, is entitled U.S. Gazetteer, Vol. II. Artfully balanced and monumentally scaled, all the objects in this small painting–cash, correspondence, writing tools, geographic directory–come together to suggest a world of business. Moreover, a world of business that is carefully ordered, solid, experienced, and useful.” (excerpt, pp.278, 280) |
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Material |
Oil on canvas
Oil paint (pigmented coating)
Paint
Canvas |
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Measurements |
8 x 12 in |
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Technique |
Oil painting (technique)
Painting (image-making) |
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Inscription |
Lower left corner of tabletop: artist's signature. |
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Work Type |
Paintings
Oil paintings
Still life paintings
Still lifes |
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Repository |
Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
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Source |
Lubin, David M. Picturing a Nation: Art and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century America. New Haven: Yale UP, 1994. (fig.155, p.279) |
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Rights |
Photo/illustration credit/reproduced in Lubin courtesy: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Alex Simpson, Jr., Collection. |
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Digital Publisher |
University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center |
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Format |
image/jpeg |
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Digital File Name |
VRC 1269-32.jpg |
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Rating |
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