PORTLAND — Beginning Sept. 18, the Portland Museum of Art will show works by John Haberle, one of the most accomplished American trompe l’oeil painters.

The artist, who lived from 1856 to 1933, combined masterful technique with sly, witty historical and personal references to American life in his paintings.

PMA’s “John Haberle: Master of Illusion” exhibit features about 16 paintings and drawings from museums and private collections around the country.

Alluding to the moral and political issues of the time, Haberle’s trompe l’oeil (meaning to “fool the eye”) paintings juxtapose newspaper clippings, tickets and money with objects such as a pocket watch, playing cards, and rosary beads. The slight but ingenious details make each of Haberle’s paintings entertaining and complex.

Haberle’s precise work was under-recognized during his lifetime. Afterward, he faded into complete obscurity, but was rediscovered in 1949 by American scholar Alfred Frankenstein. Despite fleeting fame during his lifetime, Haberle today is considered one of the most accomplished American trompe l’oeil painters alongside William Michael Harnett and John Frederick Peto.

In “Time and Eternity,” a piece from the New Britain Museum, Haberle juxtaposes objects of the temporal world, such as a pocket watch, playing cards and rosary beads with a newspaper clipping that references Robert G. Ingersoll, a lecturer at the time who was tried for blasphemy because of his unorthodox views on slavery and the bible.

The painting, though seemingly straight-forward, subtly illustrates the passing of time and the gambles we take with our lives, while simultaneously making reference to the political issues of the time.

The exhibition is a fitting celebration of the recent gift of Haberle’s 1888 masterpiece “Reproduction” to the PMA. It was donated by Dr. Walter B. Goldfarb, former head of surgery at Maine Medical Center

Supplementing the exhibition, up through Dec. 12, is a catalog created by art historian and curator Gertrude Grace Sill.

For gallery hours or more information, call 775-6148 or visit portlandmuseum.org.