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Exhibition poster

The Artist's Letter Rack

William Michael Harnett

1879 · Oil on canvas · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Size2:3 ratio
Frame
$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two
3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping
Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper
Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days
Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free
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About this work

Artist
William Michael Harnett (1848–1892)
Year
1879
Medium
Oil on canvas
Original size
76.2 × 63.5 cm
Collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Movement
Realism

Letters, envelopes, a calling card, a newspaper clipping and a torn photograph are tucked behind pink tapes tacked to a wooden board. Letter racks of this kind hung in nineteenth-century offices, and Harnett's painted version, made in Philadelphia in 1879, is one of the earliest of the American trompe-l'oeil 'rack' pictures that Peto later made his own. It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A witty trompe-l'oeil of letters and cards for an office, study or hallway in a black frame. It suits warm white or grey walls and is a gift for a writer.

Style, size & framing detail
Style
Exhibition poster of a Realism painting
Era
19th century (1879)
Orientation
Portrait
Palette
cream & beige
Mood
calm
Rooms
hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
Good gift for
housewarming, art lovers

Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials
• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or dark wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen
Shipping & returns
Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.
Is The Artist's Letter Rack in the public domain?
Yes. William Michael Harnett (1848–1892) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What is it printed on?
Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.
When was The Artist's Letter Rack painted, and in what medium?
The Artist's Letter Rack dates from 1879 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 76.2 × 63.5 cm.
What size works above a sofa or bed?
Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair.
About this design
A museum-exhibition poster of William Michael Harnett's The Artist's Letter Rack — letters, envelopes, a calling card, a newspaper clipping and a torn photograph are tucked behind pink tapes tacked to a wooden board — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. The American Trompe-l'œil, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or dark wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.
Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.
Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.
Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.
Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.
Also available as

A fine-art print

The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.

Fine artThe Artist's Letter Rack — framed in a gallery setting
The Artist's Letter Rack
William Michael Harnett
from $39 · free shipping
Related collections
American PaintingRealist & Academic Paintings of the Nineteenth CenturyFamous Still-Life & Flower PaintingsPaintings in the Metropolitan Museum of ArtExhibition PostersFamous Painting PrintsAll collections →
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