William Michael Harnett
American, born in Ireland, 1848–1892
BiographyBorn in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, on 10 August 1848, William Michael Harnett 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. He died in New York on 29 October 1892. 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.