Approaches to still-life painting. "Sordid mechanics" and "monkey-talents" : the illusionistic tradition / Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr. -- Illusionism, trompe l'oeil, and the perils of viewership / Paul J. Staiti -- Permanent objects in a changing world : Harnett's still lifes as a hold on the past / David M. Lubin -- A study in contrasts : the work of Harnett and La Farge / Henry Adams -- The patrons of the artist : emblems of commerce and culture / Doreen Bolger -- The artist's public face : lifetime exhibitions and critical reception / William H. Gerdts -- Harnett enters art history / Elizabeth Johns -- Elements of artistic development. Burin to brush : Harnett as an artisan / Paul Raymond Provost -- The artist and American art academies / Maria Chamberlin-Hellman -- Notes of change : Harnett's paintings of the late 1870s / John Wilmerding -- Common objects of everyday life / Roxana Robinson -- The artist's working methods / Jennifer Milam -- Harnett and photography / Douglas R. Nickel -- The late years / Jennifer Hardin -- The major themes. Permanent perishables : the artist's fruit paintings / Thayer Tolles Mickel -- "The best index of American life" :newspapers in the artist's work / Laura A. Coyle --"Job lot cheap" : books, bindings, and the old bookseller / Andrew Walker -- Commodified displays : the bric-a-brac still lifes / Sylvia Yount -- Grave counsel : Harnett and Vanitas / Chad Mandeles -- Literary references in Harnett's still-life paintings / Judy L. Larson -- After the hunt / Elizabeth Jane Connell -- Harnett and music : many a touching melody / Marc Simpson -- Chronology / Thayer Tolles Mickel.