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Meerschaum Pipe

Artist/Maker (American, born in Ireland, 1848–1892)
Date1886
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 17 1/4 × 12 3/8 in. (43.8 × 31.4 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 × 17 1/4 × 2 1/8 in. (56.5 × 43.8 × 5.4 cm)
Credit LineCharles F. Olney Fund
Object number1945.31
Status
On view
More Information
Harnett was trained as an engraver of silverware. He began studying painting in his late teens, supporting himself by producing small still-lifes for sale. By the 1880s he was one of the most prominent and influential still-life painters in the United States, with his more popular pictures becoming the subject of countless imitations. Ever present in Harnett's work is his fascination with and the mastery of trompe l'oeil technique - meaning literally to trick the eye.
Exhibition History
Still Life Painting Since 1470
  • Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI ( 1956-09 - 1956-09 )
  • Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH ( 1956-10 - 1956-10 )
Still Life Paintings from the 17th to the 19th Century
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (March 15, 1945 - April 15, 1945 )
Harnett Centennial Exhibition
  • Downtown Gallery, New York (April 13, 1948 - May 1, 1948 )
Paintings and Drawings from Five Centuries: Collection Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York (February 3, 1954 - February 21, 1954 )
American Paintings
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (November 23, 1954 - December 18, 1954 )
An American University Collection: Works of Art from the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio
  • Kenwood House, London (May 3, 1962 - October 30, 1962 )
American Paintings and Sculpture
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 30, 1985 - August 18, 1985 )
American Landscapes and Tromp L'Oeil from the Permanent Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (December 5, 1986 - February 1, 1987 )
Focus on the Permanent Collection: 19th and 20th Century American Still Lifes
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 1, 1994 - August 7, 1994 )
Figure to Non-Figurative: The Evolution of Modern Art in Europe and North America, 1830-1950
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 23, 2002 - June 9, 2003 )
Regarding Realism
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 6, 2013 - June 22, 2014 )
Collections
  • On View
  • Americas