William Michael Harnett

William Michael Harnett (1848 - 1892) was an Irish-American painter known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes of ordinary objects. Becoming a United States citizen in 1868, he made a living as a young man by engraving designs on table silver, while also taking night classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later, in New York, at Cooper Union and at the National Academy of Design.