Description Claude Raguet Hirst (New York, Ohio, 1855-1942), Still Life of Candle and Books, O/C, 1939, depicting books, letters a candle and inkwell in an interior, signed and dated 1939 lower right. Frame size: 24 1/2 in. x 28 1/2 in. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Claude Hirst specialized in small still-life paintings, usually of old books and pipes in the trompe l'oeil style. She was unique as a trompe l'oeil painter in that she was the first woman of note to paint in this style and also because she preferred watercolor when other trompe painters were using oil. Of her it was said that 'she alternated between oil and watercolor with such facility that one critic noted 'It is difficult to distinguish the oils from the watercolors, so perfect is the execution in both.' (Ledes 16). She especially delighted in painting crisp-looking pages and worn-leather bindings of old books, which appealed to viewers following the vogue of antique book collecting. Until the late 1880s, she painted still lives of flowers and fruit, but changed with the influence of William Harnett, noted trompe still life painter, who set up a studio next to hers in a New York City building at 30 East 14th Street. She adopted his masculine subjects such as pipes and tobacco. Source: Ask.Art.com.