Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

John Haberle
"The Artist's Palette" John Haberle, Pyrography, Trompe L'oeil 19th Century

circa 1890

About the Item

John Haberle The Artist's Palette, circa 1890 Oil on panel with brushes & palette knife 18 x 27 inches Provenance: The artist Mrs. Vera Demmer (artist's daughter), by descent Kennedy Galleries, New York Berry-Hill Galleries, New York Private Collection, New York Keno Auctions, New York, Americana: Paintings, Furniture and Decorative Arts, January 17, 2012, Lot 27 Arader Galleries, New York Exhibited: New York, Kennedy Galleries, John Haberle: An Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Watercolors, June 8, July 15, 1970, no. 17, p. 11, illustrated. Fort Worth, Texas, Amon Carter Museum, John Haberle Master of Illusion, November 29, 1985- January 19, 1986, p. 28. New Britain Museum of American Art, John Haberle American Master of Illusion, December 11, 2009 - March 11, 2010, p. 72; this exhibition later traveled to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Brandywine River Museum, April 17 - July 11, 2010; Portland Museum of Art, Maine September 18 - December 12, 2010. Literature: Kennedy Galleries, Inc., Exhibition catalogue, American Still Lifes 19th & 20th Century, Kennedy Quarterly, Vol. XI, No. 2, November 1971, p. 109, (84). William Gerdts, Exhibition Catalogue, Joseph Decker, Still Lifes, Landscapes and Images of Youth, Coe Kerr Gallery, May 17 - June 11, 1988, p. XXII. Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, Deceptions and Illusions: Five Centuries of Trompe L'oeil Painting, Washington, D.C., 2002, p. 100. Kristen Nassif, Unseeing Sight: Blindness in American Art and Material Culture, Ph. D. Dissertation, Spring 2022, p. 115. John Haberle became a trompe l'oeil still life painter of subjects that aroused merriment, a sense of abandon, and wacky humor. He spent most of his life in or near his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked as an engraver, draftsman, and lithographer, and as a custodian and preparator at Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History. He produced about forty extremely detailed trompe-l'oeil pictures between the mid-1880s and the late 1890s, before deteriorating eyesight forced him to give up painting. He taught drawing lessons, founded the New Haven Sketch Club, and exhibited his works at local bookstores, saloons, and hotels as well as at prestigious exhibitions at the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. One of his trompe l'oeil paintings, Time and Eternity, ca. 1890, is exquisitely painted and extremely detailed, designed to trick the eye into thinking that these are real, not painted, objects. The illusion is aided by the shallow spatial format and by the absolute clarity and precision with which the objects are painted. The objects hanging from this rough surface would have been familiar to Haberle's audience. The cracked pocket watch becomes a symbol of the fleeting quality of time, a reference to the traditional vanitas still lifes of the Dutch and Flemish Baroque masters. The playing cards, pawn tickets, betting receipts, and girlie photo are the detritus of daily life; juxtaposed with the rosary they are an obvious contrast between the temporal and the spiritual, the here and now and the hereafter. Haberle's torn, ragged scraps of paper currency also refer to the passage of time; the word GRAVE (part of the word engraved) is a blatant reference to death, emphasized by the scrap's proximity to the crucifix. The moralizing message of the painting is obvious, yet Haberle, in his paintings, often added a note of complexity to the mix by addressing current events. By juxtaposing traditional symbols of vanitas with references to well-known public controversies, Haberle has asked his audience to think for themselves on the profound philosophical and scientific issues that were filtering through late-nineteenth-century society. The extreme detail and realism made trompe-l'oeils hugely popular with the public, but late nineteenth-century art critics derided such works as mere parlor tricks which lacked art. Yet Haberle's works aim not only to fool the eye, but are often ingenious, extremely witty, and entertaining. A rebus waiting to be deciphered, they are an expression of the social and political ideas of the artist's time.
  • Creator:
    John Haberle (1856 - 1933)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1890
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1841214351012
More From This SellerView All
  • "Midsummer Night" Gerome Kamrowski, Color Field, Abstract Expressionism
    By Gerome Kamrowski
    Located in New York, NY
    Gerome Kamrowski Midsummer Night, 1973 Signed upper left Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 inches Gerome Kamrowski was born in Warren, Minnesota, on January 19, 1914. In 1932 he enrolled in...
    Category

    1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Foam, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board

  • "Burnt Orange Seams" Gerome Kamrowski, Color Field, Abstract Expressionism
    By Gerome Kamrowski
    Located in New York, NY
    Gerome Kamrowski Burnt Orange Seams, 1979 Acrylic on canvas 30 x 24 inches Gerome Kamrowski was born in Warren, Minnesota, on January 19, 1914. In 1932 he enrolled in the Saint Paul...
    Category

    1970s Color-Field Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Foam, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board

  • "Blue Fossil" Gerome Kamrowski, Abstract Surrealist, Biomorphic Expressionism
    By Gerome Kamrowski
    Located in New York, NY
    Gerome Kamrowski Blue Fossil, 1960 Acrylic and styrofoam on board 17 x 46 inches Gerome Kamrowski was born in Warren, Minnesota, on January 19, 1914. In 1932 he enrolled in the Saint Paul School of Art (now Minnesota Museum of American Art - MMAA), where he studied with Leroy Turner...
    Category

    1960s Surrealist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Foam, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board

  • "Autobiography" Aaron Bohrod, Pun Humor, Cars, Realism, Motoring
    By Aaron Bohrod
    Located in New York, NY
    Aaron Bohrod Autobiography, 1991 Signed lower right Oil on gesso board 12 x 16 inches Aaron Bohrod's work has not been limited to one style or medium. Initially recognized as a regionalist painter of American scenes, particularly of his native Chicago, Bohrod later devoted himself to detailed still-life paintings rendered in the trompe l'oeil style. He also worked for several years in ceramics and wrote a book on pottery. Born in 1907, Bohrod began his studies at Chicago's Crane Junior College in 1925, and two years later enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. But it was at the Art Students League in New York City, from 1930 to 1932, that he studied under the man believed to be his most significant early influence, John Sloan. Sloan's romantic realism is reflected in the many depictions of Chicago life...
    Category

    1990s Realist Animal Paintings

    Materials

    Board, Oil

  • "Nodders" Aaron Bohrod, Pun Humor, Magic Realism, Surrealism, Dreaming
    By Aaron Bohrod
    Located in New York, NY
    Aaron Bohrod Nodders, 1986 Signed upper left Oil on gesso panel 12 x 16 inches Aaron Bohrod's work has not been limited to one style or medium. Initially recognized as a regionalist painter of American scenes, particularly of his native Chicago, Bohrod later devoted himself to detailed still-life paintings rendered in the trompe l'oeil style. He also worked for several years in ceramics and wrote a book on pottery. Born in 1907, Bohrod began his studies at Chicago's Crane Junior College in 1925, and two years later enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. But it was at the Art Students League in New York City, from 1930 to 1932, that he studied under the man believed to be his most significant early influence, John Sloan. Sloan's romantic realism is reflected in the many depictions of Chicago life...
    Category

    1980s Realist Animal Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • "Brighton Beach, August 5" Nathan Hoffman, Brooklyn, Impressionist, Sunny Day
    Located in New York, NY
    Nathan Hoffman Brighton Beach, August 5, 1941 Signed, titled, dated and estate stamped on the reverse Oil on board 9 3/4 x 14 inches Born in Russia, th...
    Category

    1940s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Board, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Atmospheric Abstract Landscape Painting of English Moorland using Earthy Tones
    By Paul Denham
    Located in Preston, GB
    Atmospheric Abstract Landscape Painting of English Moorland using Earthy Tones by British Artist, Paul Denham. Born in 1977, Paul grew up in Rab...
    Category

    2010s Land Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board

  • Rhythmic 4 - Mixed Media on Panel by Marco Amici - 1992
    By Marco Amici
    Located in Roma, IT
    Rhythmic 4 is an original oil and mixed media painting on panel realized by the Italian artist Marco Amici in 1992. Original Title: Ritmico Title and monograms are written by the ...
    Category

    1990s Contemporary Mixed Media

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil, Board

  • "Denkbilder, " Mixed-Media Sculpture, 2021
    Located in Chicago, IL
    To Chicago-based artist Patrick Fitzgerald, his miniature car sculptures are a means of traveling through time. Born from a fascination with the soap box derby cars of his youth, eac...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Oil, Acrylic, Cardboard, Canvas, Mixed Media

  • Mr. X
    Located in West Hollywood, CA
    This work depicts a modern Mr. X, following the artists personal concepts about portraiture. He uses bold color and thick brushstrokes to successfully obtain the 3-dimensional painting. The artist aims to inspire to viewer to wake up from “unconscious automations” caused by capitalism and technology in our society. ABOUT THE ARTIST - Massimo Damico...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Mixed Media

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board

  • 6335
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Swiss artist Edith Konrad paints figurative abstract compositions with mixed media on canvas. She layers her expression of her emotional response to the subjects with dynamic texture...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Mixed Media

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil, Board

  • 6349
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    Swiss artist Edith Konrad paints figurative abstract compositions with mixed media on canvas. She layers her expression of her emotional response to the subjects with dynamic textures and subtle patterns in her artworks. The thick layers of paint add a sculptural and tactile, rich looking feel to her paintings, along with the bodily presence of her subjects. Her works have been exhibited internationally, including Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles and many art fairs such as Montreux, Geneva, Salzburg, Rotterdam, Marbella, Los Angeles, Toronto and Paris. This 18 inch square original artwork is created with mixed media on wood. It is framed in a silver wood frame. The dimensions include the frame. It is wired and ready to hang. The artist signed this abstract figurative painting on the front in the lower right corner. Convenient local Los Angeles area shipping. Affordable Continental U.S. and worldwide shipping also available. A certificate of authenticity issued by the art gallery is included. Edith Konrad has studied in numerous master classes with artists from Germany and Italy. She paints in a variety of techniques and particularly prefers the use acrylic on canvas, collage and mixed media. In 2007 her art was acquired by the State Museum Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She won the 2009 Palm Art Award, a Certificate of Excellence for outstanding artistic quality and originality of the work. In 2010 she exhibited at the Salon de la Culture at the Louvre in Paris, France. REPRESENTATION Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, USA EXHIBITIONS 2022 Identity With A Chance of Imperfection, Los Angeles, CA 2020 In Search of Principle, Artspace Warehouse. Los Angeles, CA 2019 Something Vague, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA 2018 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA Opposites Group Exhibition, Hotel Chlosterhof, Stein am Rhein, Switzerland Falcon Gallery, Stein am Rhein, Switzerland K-13 Freiamt, Villmergen, Switzerland 2017 Falkengalerie, Stein am Rhein, Germany Banca intermobiliare di investimenti Lugano, Switzerland Arte Genova 13, Art Fair Genova, Italy 2016 Fugo Diethelm, Mühlau, Switzerland Galerie f 5, Lucerne, Switzerland Kunstsupermarkt Solothurn, Switzerland Kunstwarenhaus Zürich, Switzerland Affordable Art Fair New York, NY Galerie-Beck, Saarbrücken, Germany 2015 Affordable Art Fair Singapore Migros Kulturprozent Zugerland, Switzerland Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, California Love Art Fair Toronto, Canada Affordable Art Fair New York, NY LA Art Show International Art Fair, Los Angeles 2014 Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles Houston Fine Art Fair, Texas Kunstwarenhaus Zürich, Switzerland Love Art Fair Toronto, Canada Who’s Who Deutschland (Germany) 2013 Galleria Alter Ego, Ponte Tresa, Switzerland Schweizer Kunstraum, Lausanne, Switzerland Artspace Warehouse Los Angeles, California Kunstwarenhaus Zürich, Switzerland Flussreif in Berikon, Switzerland Ateliernacht im Freiamt, Switzerland Kunst-Supermarkt Solothurn, Switzerland 2012 Affordable Art Fair Los Angeles, CA Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles Galerie Katapult, Basel, Switzerland 2011 Kunst-Supermarkt Solothurn, Switzerland Kunstwarenhaus Zurich, Switzerland Zugermesse, Switzerland 2010 Kunstwarenhaus, Zürich, Switzerland Ennenda, Switzerland Zentrum Aettenbühl Sins CH Louvre, Salon de la Culture, Paris, France 2009 International Art Fair, Europ Art Geneva, Switzerland Palm Art Award, Leipzig, Germany Kunst-Supermarkt Solothurn, Switzerland Porto Ceresio Italy Galerie Tedden Düsseldorf, Germany Galerie Katapult, Basel, Switzerland Who‘s Who Deutschland (Germany) 2008 Chunschtspycher Bettmeralp, Switzerland Bad Ditzenbach Germany Porto Ceresio Italy Forum Zugerland Migros Kulturprozent, Switzerland Kunst-Supermarkt Solothurn, Switzerland 2007 International Art Fair ROTTERDAM, Holland Kulturachse Horw: art five, Switzerland Acquisition by STATE MUSEUM HALIFAX, Nova Scotia 2301 Art Fair Zug Design, Switzerland Vita Solothurn Gallery, Switzerland 2006 International Art Fair EUROP`Art Genève International Art Fair ART SALZBURG, Austria International Art Fair ART MARBELLA, Spain Müllerhaus Lenzburg group exhibition CH 2005 International Art Fair ART GALLERY Montreux, Switzerland Porto Ceresio Italy Kulturschür Windisch, Switzerland 2004 Bahnhofgalerie, Sins, Switzerland 2003 Keller Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland 2002 Bahnhofgalerie, Sins, Switzerland 2001 Jugendseelsorge, Zürich, Switzerland 2000 Zentrum Aettenbühl, Sins, Switzerland TV & FILM Athena, Amazon Prime...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Mixed Media

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Oil, Board

Recently Viewed

View All