Scrapbook containing newspaper and magazine clippings, calling cards, sketches, photographs of paintings, and two sales catalogs of Harnett's (William Michael Harnett, 1848–1892) work

Art Historical Context

This intriguing scrapbook, compiled by William Ignatius Blemly, serves as a rich archival tribute to the American still-life painter William Michael Harnett (1848–1892). Spanning 108 pages, it gathers newspaper clippings, calling cards, sketches, photographs of paintings, and rare sales catalogs that document Harnett’s career and the public’s fascination with his meticulously realistic works. As a personal collection rather than a finished artwork, the volume captures the late nineteenth-century enthusiasm for trompe-l’œil illusionism, preserving ephemeral traces of how Harnett’s tabletop arra...