George Murphy 

To maximize the extraordinary fineness of detail in Murphy’s trompe l’oeil work, his oils in this genre are painted on smooth poplar ply panels.  His subject matter here tends to the antique but often with a contemporary twist.  Small-scale items, such as a toy pistol or an old oarlock, are rendered in exquisite detail, hung illusionarily from hooks or nails against plain backdrops upon which the object’s shadow is subtly cast.  Though, working very much in the tradition of Peto and Harnett, Murphy frequently enlivens his illusory work with irony and humor.