Currently not on view
The Marked Passage
John Frederick Peto, 1854–1907; born Philadelphia, PA; died Island Heights, NJ
formerly attributed to William Michael Harnett, 1848–1892; born Clonakilty, Ireland; died New York, NY; active Philadelphia, PA and New York
formerly attributed to William Michael Harnett, 1848–1892; born Clonakilty, Ireland; died New York, NY; active Philadelphia, PA and New York
y1985-39
Peto studied with fellow still-life artist William Michael Harnett (1848–1892) at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and their work was subsequently often confused. By the end of the nineteenth century, Peto’s compositions were regularly passed off as by Harnett, due to the latter’s greater contemporary acclaim—and the superior market value of paintings signed by him. The Marked Passage is one such example, in which the forged signature "WM Harnett" only partially obscures that of "JF Peto," the painting’s creator. The reader of the upper book marked his page with a pipe and laid a burnt wooden match on the edge of the lower book. These actions suggest transitory moments, in contrast to the long use of the books, as indicated by their worn leather bindings. A tobacco container seems to hover mysteriously on a dark shelf over this quotidian scene.
Information
Title
The Marked Passage
Maker
Medium
Oil on academy board
Dimensions
15.4 x 23.3 cm. (6 1/16 x 9 3/16 in.)
frame: 35.7 × 43 × 5 cm (14 1/16 × 16 15/16 × 1 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Alfred H. Barr, Jr.
Object Number
y1985-39
Signatures
Signed lower right: W.M. Harnett; partially obscured: JF Peto.
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
formerly attributed to William Michael Harnett, 1848–1892; born Clonakilty, Ireland; died New York, NY; active Philadelphia, PA and New York
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1985," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 45, no. 1 (1986): p.16–42, p. 42 (illus.)
- John Wilmerding et al., American Art in the Princeton University Art Museum: volume 1: drawings and watercolors, (Princeton: Princeton University Art Museum; New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 2004), p. 178, cat. no. 42; p. 179 (illus.); p. 317, checklist no. 440
