The Metropolitan Museum of Art 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10028 (212)879-5500 MONOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION OF WORKS OF WILLIAM HARNETT TO BE SHOWN AT METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART PRESS PREVIEW • TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1992 • 10:00 a.m. - noon Exhibition dates • March 14 - June 14, 1992 Exhibition location • The Erving and Joyce Wolf Galleries, The American Wing, first floor William M. Harnett, the first comprehensive exhibition of this 19th-century still-life painter's work, will open at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on March 14. Harnett popularized the use of man-made objects as still-life models and worked in a remarkably realistic style that fostered the late-19th-century American school of trompe-l'oeil painting—quite literally painting that "fooled the eye." The exhibition of about 50 of Harnett's most accomplished pictures will continue at the Metropolitan Museum through June 14 and then travel to the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The exhibition is made possible by Alamo Rent A Car, Inc. It was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Additional support was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. William M. Harnett (1848-92) was born in Ireland and immigrated to Philadelphia as a child. For nearly a decade he worked as an engraver while pursuing art studies both in Philadelphia and in New York. His paintings began to sell around 1875, enabling Harnett to move, as he put it, "wholly into painting." In 1880, he went abroad for six years and settled in New York upon his return. An enormously popular artist, Harnett remained outside the academic (more) William M. Harnett Page 2 establishment, often exhibiting his works in unexpected venues, such as industrial fairs, department stores, factories, and restaurants. Harnett turned from conventional fruit subjects, the representations of nature's bounty that had preoccupied mid-century still-life artists, to man-made objects such as books, mugs, pipes, musical instruments, currency, and bric-a-brac. He developed innovative compositions, notably hanging objects against wooden walls or doors, seen in The Old Violin of 1886, The Faithful Colt of 1890, and Mr. Hillings' Rack Picture of 1888. He also experimented with scale, creating elaborate miniature still-lifes merely four-by-six inches, as well as massive, life-size arrangements easily mistaken for actual objects. Harnett's most important contribution was this highly illusionistic painting technique which did, indeed, confuse viewers—but also engaged them. Treasury agents reportedly attempted to arrest Harnett because they considered his paintings of currency to be actual counterfeits. One exhibition committee considered soaking an illusionistic label off a canvas before they were finally convinced that it was indeed part of the painted surface. After the Hunt of 1885, the final of four paintings on this theme, attracted enthusiastic crowds to a New York saloon, where one gentleman—who had touched the picture—persisted in believing that some of the painted objects had to be real. Guards were required to protect The Old Violin from eager viewers in Cincinnati to "suppress any attempts to take down the fiddle and the bow." Despite his celebrity during his lifetime, Harnett was forgotten shortly after his death 100 years ago. The rediscovery of his canvas The Faithful Colt in 1935 precipitated a revival of interest in his work and that of his trompe-l'oeil followers. The Museum's exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated publication. Co-published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the Amon Carter Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, William M. Harnett provides the first comprehensive survey of the artist's career since Alfred Frankenstein's pioneering monograph, published in 1953. Edited by Doreen Bolger, Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Marc Simpson, The Ednah Root Curator of American Art at The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; and John Wilmerding, (more) William M. Harnett Page 3 Visiting Curator of American Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; with the assistance of Thayer Tolles Mickel, Curatorial Assistant at the Amon Carter Museum. The book contains 22 essays by leading Americanists that examine three major areas: Harnett's relation to his contemporaries, his formative training and experiences, and the meaning of his major themes. The exhibition was organized by John Wilmerding, Doreen Bolger, and Marc Simpson, with Thayer Tolles Mickel, and installed at the Metropolitan Museum by Kevin Avery, Assistant Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture. Exhibition design is by Dan Kershaw, Museum Exhibition Designer, with graphics by Sophia Geronimus, Museum Graphic Designer, and lighting by Zack Zanolli, Museum Lighting Designer. o o o FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, please call John Ross or Richard Lombard, Public Information Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tel: (212) 879-5500 January 1992 .