1969 Illusionist Still-Life Artist William Harnett Stamps in Chicago, Illinois For Sale

Full sheet of xxxx-issued over-sized William M. Harnett American Painting six-cent stamps in pane of 8 columns X 4 rows. Robert J. Jones designed the stamp, which was the ninth in the annually issued American Painting Series and depicts the painting "Old Models," which the Boston Museum of Fine Arts holds in its collection. Many in the art community apostrophized Harnett's art, labeling it "painting by recipe." Others demeaned the canvasses with the lament that photography does it better. Nevertheless, many wagers were often laid and lost as to whether the objects on Harnett's canvas were painted or real.
Philadelphian Harnett basked in the limeflight of famous American artists during the xxxx's, despite spending six years of that decade in Europe. Using skillful perspective, his meticulously detailed life-size objects were known as "illusionist still lifes" or trompe l'oeil. In his still lifes, Harnett depicted musical instruments, musical scores, and old newspapers with such reality that viewers were tempted to touch them. One of his passionate themes was a well-worn, soiled, wrinkled piece of currency. He also depicted such things as dead game, Colt revolvers and horseshoes hanging on nails in the wall. His forte.was the suberb illusion of three-dimensional objects in two-dimensional spaces.
Stamp sheet is in mint condition with no flaws or imperfections. Suitable for framing, especially along a hallway or stairway of your home.