Just Dessert
William Michael Harnett · 1891
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 56.6 × 68 cm (22 1/4 × 26 3/4 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Impressionism
*Just Dessert* is a masterclass in trompe l'oeil — the kind of painting that makes you instinctively reach for what isn't there. William Michael Harnett was the defining voice of American illusionist still life in the late nineteenth century, and this 1891 work shows him at the height of his powers. Painted with obsessive precision, he renders a tabletop scene of nuts, fruit, a wine glass, and the quiet aftermath of a meal with a tactile realism that almost defies belief. Where European still life tradition leaned toward grandeur, Harnett found beauty in the ordinary and the overlooked. Harnett's reputation for realism was so potent that the US Secret Service reportedly kept a file on him during the 1880s after his painted currency was mistaken for genuine notes — a widely documented episode that speaks to the uncanny power of his eye. The Art Institute of Chicago has held *Just Dessert* since 1894, making it one of the earliest Harnett acquisitions in any major American collection. Our hand-painted oil reproduction honours every carefully observed shadow and surface texture, giving you a faithful connection to one of the great works of American realism.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
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In Harnett's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.
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