Cheeky William

While I was on adventure in Denver I had a day at the Denver Art Museum and was inspired by a few paintings. One of them was "Still Life With Telegraph" by William Harnett. 

  William Michael Harnett ca 1880

William was born in County Cork, Ireland and shortly after that his family immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia. His first known painting is dated 1874.

What fascinated me with this painting was that the pipe was still hot. As though William had been smoking it just before he set it down. The ash still has red hot coals and there is smoke twirling upwards. Capturing movement in a still life is cheeky and I adore this painting.  He painted it in 1880 but it was not the first painting of a still smoking pipe.

This week enjoy Cheeky William.