Martin Johnson Heade: 23 cool facts

Martin Johnson Heade (August 11, 1819 – September 4, 1904) was an American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, and depictions of tropical birds (such as hummingbirds), as competently as lotus blossoms and other nevertheless lifes. His painting style and subject matter, while derived from the romanticism of the time, are regarded by art historians as a significant departure from those of his peers.

Heade was born in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, the son of a storekeeper. He studied in imitation of Edward Hicks, and possibly taking into account Thomas Hicks. His antiquated works were produced during the 1840s and were chiefly portraits. He travelled to Europe several period as a pubescent man, became an itinerant artist upon American shores, and exhibited in Philadelphia in 1841 and New York in 1843. Friendships with artists of the Hudson River School led to an incorporation in landscape art. In 1863, he planned to broadcast a volume of Brazilian hummingbirds and tropical flowers, but the project was eventually abandoned. He travelled to the tropics several time thereafter, and continued to paint natural world and flowers. Heade married in 1883 and moved to St. Augustine, Florida. His chief works from this get older were Floridian landscapes and flowers, particularly magnolias laid on velvet cloth. He died in 1904. His best known works are depictions of blithe and shadow upon the salt marshes of New England.

Heade was not a widely known performer during his lifetime, but his discharge duty attracted the proclamation of scholars, art historians, and collectors during the 1940s. He speedily became attributed as a major American artist. Although often considered a Hudson River School artist, some critics and scholars accept exception to this categorization. Heade’s works are now in major museums and collections. His paintings are occasionally discovered in unlikely places such as garage sales and flea markets.