Still Life
Artist
William Michael Harnett
American, born Ireland, 1848–1892
Date1885
MediumOil on panel
Dimensionsheight and width: 13 3/4 × 10 3/8 in. (34.9 × 26.4 cm)
frame: 20 5/8 × 17 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (52.4 × 43.5 × 3.8 cm)
frame: 20 5/8 × 17 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (52.4 × 43.5 × 3.8 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of Ann and Jim Goodnight
Object number2019.20
On View
On view[1] Son-in-law of George Richmond.
[2] Per Christie’s.
[3] “Property of a lady.”
Published References“Royal Academy, Third Notice,” The Times (London), May 25, 1885, 4.
“Pictures at the Royal Academy (Last Notice),” Daily News (London), June 2, 1885, 6.
Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts, A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904 (London, Henry Graves and Co., Ltd., and George Bell and Sons, 1905), Vol. 3, p. 395, no. 860.
Alfred Frankenstein, “New Harnett Discoveries,” Magazine of Art 44 (February 1951), 62–66, discussed 66 (illustration incorrectly identified).
Alfred Frankenstein, After the Hunt: William Harnett and Other American Still Life Painters, 1870-1900 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1952), 70, 71; and revised edition, 1969, 70, 71.
“Small Still Life Sells for $78,120,” Los Angeles Times, February 20, 1971.
The Armand Hammer Collection (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1971), no. 52.
[Christie’s advertisement], Art News 69 (January 1971), 6, illus. (color).
[Christie’s advertisement], Apollo 93 (February 1971), 9, illus. (color).
Connoisseur 177 (June 1971), illus. (b-w) 158.
Mahonri Sharp Young, “The Armand Hammer Collection: Paintings,” Apollo 95 (June 1972), 452, 454, illus. (color) pl. X.
Frank Davis, “Talking about Sale-Rooms,” Country Life 149 (April 19, 1973), 1158–1159, illus. (b-w) fig. 2.
A Decade of Collecting, 1965-1975 (exhibition catalogue) (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975), 127, 221–22, no. 123, illus. (color).
John Walker, ed., The Armand Hammer Collection (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1980), no. 59, illus. (color) 162.
The Armand Hammer Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1985, no. 87, illus. (color) 152.
Armand Hammer with Neil Lyndon, Hammer (New York: Perigee Books, 1988), 443, 455.
Doreen Bolger, Marc Simpson and John Wilmerding, eds., William M. Harnett (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1992), 94, 293–94, illus. (color) pl. 35.
Amy Torbert, “A Meditation on Love: William Michael Harnett’s Still Life with Flute, Vase, and Roman Lamp,” Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2012), 104, 106, n.4.
Exhibition HistoryLondon, Royal Academy of Arts, annual exhibition, May 4-June 24, 1885, no. 860 (as Still Life, lent by the artist).
St. Helens, Merseyside, U.K., Mansion in Victoria Park, First Summer Art Exhibition, May 5- ____, 1892, no. 105 (as Still Life, lent by George Richmond).
[NOTE: The Armand Hammer Foundation organized an exhibition of the Hammer Collection and travelled it to at least 56 venues worldwide. Most of the exhibitions were accompanied by a catalogue, produced by the Foundation. The checklist varied slightly from one exhibition to another, though Harnett’s Still Life was included in most and possibly all of the exhibitions that followed its acquisition in January 1971.The Foundation produced illustrated catalogues for these exhibitions, again with variations in checklist. The Harnett text, often uncredited, was apparently written by Larry Curry of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
“The Armand Hammer Collection,” traveling exhibition: Oklahoma City, OK, Oklahoma Art Center, June 15–July 11, 1971; San Diego, CA, Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, July 23–September 5, 1971; Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 21, 1971–February 27, 1972; London, U.K., Royal Academy of Arts, June 24–July 24, 1972; Dublin, Ire., National Gallery of Ireland, August 9–October 1, 1972; Leningrad, U.S.S.R., The Hermitage Museum, October 23–
November 20, 1972; Moscow, U.S.S.R., The Pushkin Museum, December 8, 1972–February 11, 1973; Kiev, U.S.S.R., State Museum of Fine Arts of the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republics, March 6–April 8, 1973; Minsk, U.S.S.R., State Fine Art Museum, April 26–May 27, 1973; Riga, U.S.S.R., State Museum of Foreign Fine Arts, June 6–July 8, 1973; Odessa, U.S.S.R., Fine Arts Museum, July 25–August 25, 1973; Caracas, Venezuela, Museo de Bellas Artes, January–February 1975; Lima, Peru, Museo de Arte Italiano, February 15–March 9, 1975.
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “LACMA Tenth Anniversary Exhibition: A Decade of Collecting, 1965-1975,” April 8–June 29, 1975.
“The Armand Hammer Collection,” traveling exhibition: Tokyo, Japan, Ikebukuro-Seibu Museum, September 19–November 3, 1975; Kyoto, Japan, Municipal Museum of Art, November 9–December 10, 1975; Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Prefectural Culture Center Museum, January 9–February 1, 1976; Nagoya, Japan, Aichi Prefectural Museum, February 19–March 1, 1976; Nashville, TN, Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, June 12–September. 12, 1976; Mexico City, Mexico, Palacio de Bellas Artes, February 2–March 17, 1977; Paris, France, Musée Jacquemart-André, April 19–July 30, 1977; Malibu, CA, The J. Paul Getty Museum, September 13–October 29, 1977; Atlanta, GA, High Museum of Art, November 20, 1977–January 22, 1978; Denver, CO, Denver Art Museum, February 18–April 9, 1978; Buffalo, NY, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, April 21–June 18, 1978; Edinburgh, U.K., National Gallery of Scotland, August 17–September 17, 1978; Oslo, Norway, Nasjonalmuseet, December 8, 1978–January 28, 1979; Stockholm, Sweden, Nationalmuseum, February 20–April 22, 1979; Houston, TX, Museum of Fine Arts, October 26, 1979–January 20, 1980; Moultrie, GA, Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, February 1–14, 1980; Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, April 24–August 31, 1980; Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery and School of Art, October 4–November 30, 1980; West Palm Beach, FL, Norton Gallery and School of Art, January 20–March 15, 1981; Cincinnati, OH, Cincinnati Art Museum, April 18–June 7, 1981; Lexington, KY, University of Kentucky Art Museum, November 17, 1981–January 10, 1982; Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, China Art Gallery, March 26–May 10, 1982; Huntington, WV, Huntington Galleries, May 22–
October 17, 1982.
Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Selections from the Armand Hammer Collection,” March 23–May 22, 1983.
“The Armand Hammer Collection,” traveling exhibition: Budapest, Hungary, The Fine Arts Museum of Hungary, June 7–July 31, 1983; Sofia, Bulgaria, National Gallery of Art, August 12–September 24, 1983; Belgrade, Yugoslavia, National Museum, October 4–November 14, 1983; Prague, Czechoslovakia, National Gallery of Art, November 25, 1983–January 8, 1984; Tulsa, OK, Philbrook Art Center, January 24–April 15, 1984; Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 22¬–August 26, 1984; Jerusalem, Israel, The Israel Museum, September 19–December 31, 1984.
Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, “American Paintings from the Armand Hammer Collection: An Inaugural Celebration,” January 13–February 18, 1985, unpag., illus. (color).
“The Armand Hammer Collection: Five Centuries of Masterpieces,” traveling exhibition: Albuquerque, NM, The Albuquerque Museum, February 22–April 7, 1985; Birmingham, AL, Birmingham Museum of Art, April 21–July 28, 1985; West Palm Beach, FL, Norton Gallery and School of Art, November 16–December 29, 1985; Palm Springs, CA, Palm Springs Desert Museum, January 16–March 9, 1986; Leningrad, U.S.S.R., The Hermitage Museum, March 25–May 4, 1986; Moscow, U.S.S.R., The U.S.S.R. State Art Gallery, May 15–July 6, 1986; Novosibirsk, U.S.S.R., Regional Picture Gallery, July 17–August 21, 1986; Odessa, U.S.S.R., Odessa Fine Art Museum, September 1–October 5, 1986; Kiev, U.S.S.R., Kiev State Museum of Ukraine Fine Art, October 16–November 27, 1986; Tbilisi, U.S.S.R., State Museum of Art of the Georgian S.S.R., December 8, 1986–Jan. 6, 1987; Louisville, KY, J. B. Speed Art Museum, March 17–May 17, 1987; Holyoke, MA, Holyoke Heritage State Park, June 14–August 23, 1987.
New York, NY, Metropolitan Museum of Art, “William M. Harnett,” March 14–June 14, 1992, traveling to Fort Worth, TX, Amon Carter Museum, July 17–October 18, 1992; San Francisco, CA, The de Young Museum, November 14, 1992–February 14, 1993; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, March 14–June 13, 1993.
Tulsa, OK, Philbrook Art Center, long-term loan, August 1, 2007–May 23, 2011.
Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, “Van Gogh to Munch: European Masterworks from the Armand Hammer Foundation and Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation,” June 4–August 28, 2011.
Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, long-term loan, June 4, 2012–August 2019.
Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, “Degas to Chagall: Important Loans from the Armand Hammer Foundation,” November 1, 2013–January 2, 2016.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Becoming the NCMA: 10 Decades of Collecting, 1924-2022," June 11-August 21, 2022.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement
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Gerrit Hondius
