The Banker's Table

William Michael Harnett

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a departure from the fruits and vegetables Harnett painted at the outset of his career, this tabletop still life represents manufactured objects. The leather-bound volumes, stained ink bottle, and much-used quill pen show “the mellowing effect of age,” which the artist praised in an undated interview. The varied objects reveal Harnett’s skill in rendering different textures. Although the rolled coins and other currency probably determined the title, there is nothing in the work or its history to indicate that it was commissioned by or painted for a particular banker.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art