The Banker's Table

Colors in this work

Artist: William Michael Harnett
Date: 1877
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 8 x 12 in. (20.3 x 30.5 cm)
Origin: American
Department: The American Wing
Holding institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Palette: Sooted Timber · Brown family · #412F1F · 28%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #8A6A38 · 16%

Golden Bole · Yellow family · #AA8747 · 15%

Raw Walnut · Brown family · #6D512C · 13%

Press Black · Black family · #161316 · 6%

Press Black · Black family · #17110F · 5%

Flax Ground · Yellow family · #CCBA87 · 4%

Charred Umber · Black family · #231D18 · 3%

Burnt Sienna Wall · Orange family · #A35A18 · 3%

Bitumen Shadow · Black family · #2E2121 · 2%

Slate Night · Black family · #2D2B26 · 2%

Burnt Umber Ground · Brown family · #5F2E0D · <1%

Zinc Ground · Gray family · #929784 · <1%

Vine Charcoal · Gray family · #474C3D · <1%

Granite Face · Gray family · #65796D · <1%

Kiln Ash · Gray family · #5E5B64 · <1%

Zinc Ground · Gray family · #A2A6B2 · <1%

Aubergine Glaze · Purple family · #030009 · <1%

Select a color to find related artworks.
Image provider: metropolitan-museum-of-art
License: CC0-1.0
Credit: Purchase, Elihu Root Jr. Gift, 1956

11 tags

Still Life Both · 100%

The catalog lists Still Life among the subjects, and the image shows an arranged grouping of inanimate objects.
Group of Objects Both · 100%

Multiple distinct objects—including books, a feather, coins, paper, and cylindrical vessels—are visibly arranged together; the catalog specifically lists Books, Feathers, and Coins.
Text Visual · 96%

Handwritten marks and a prominent printed or stamped mark are visible on the pale paper in the foreground.
Reflections Visual · 90%

The dark tabletop visibly contains reflected or doubled forms and highlights from the books, coins, paper, and other objects.

Dark Colors Visual · 95%

The composition is dominated by dark brown, black, ocher, and muted cream tones, with subdued rather than bright overall coloration.
Highly Detailed Visual · 96%

Book bindings and page edges, feather barbs, coins, paper, and surface wear are rendered with close observational attention.
Balance Visual · 90%

The horizontal books and feather establish a broad visual axis, while the clustered objects at left and right create a stable, considered arrangement across the tabletop.

Painting Both · 99%

The Metropolitan Museum of Art classifies the work as a painting, and the image visibly presents a painted still-life composition.
Oil Painting Metadata · 100%

The catalog identifies the medium as oil on canvas.

19th Century Art Metadata · 99%

The catalog date is 1877, placing the work within nineteenth-century art.

American Art Metadata · 99%

The Metropolitan Museum of Art records the place of origin as American.

William Michael Harnett. The Banker's Table. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.