Artist Birthdays, August 10: WILLIAM HARNETT, JAMES MORRIS

WILLIAM HARNETT (August 10, 1848 – October 29, 1892)

• Nationality: Irish-American
• Field: Painting
• Art Movement: Still Life, Trompe L’Oeil
• ARTiFact: His paintings are so lifelike that viewers often reach out to touch the works or try to grasp the objects to determine if they are real or painted.
• Artist Quote: “I endeavour to make the composition tell a story.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): The Artist’s Letter Rack (detail), 1879.

J. W. MORRICE (August 10, 1865 – January 23, 1924)

• Nationality: Canadian
• Field: Painting
• Art Movement: Post-Impressionism, Fauvism
• ARTiFact: Known as a flâneur – or a person who walks the city in order to experience it – as he often depicted observations of ordinary life and people passing by at cafes, boulevards or out of the way places.
• Artist Quote: “I grasp even the smallest moments of pleasure which I come across.”
• Important Artwork (shown below): Gondolas, Venice, 1901-2.

Related Links:

• Learn more about the artist William Harnett
• Learn more about the artist James Wilson Morrice
• Discover your favorite artists at Park West Gallery