Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904

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Martin Johnson Heade was born in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, in 1819. He studied art under painter Edward Hicks, and began his career as a portrait painter. After traveling abroad and living in Rome for two years, he made his artistic debut in 1841 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Heade began exhibiting regularly in 1848, after another trip to Europe, and became an itinerant artist until he settled in New York in 1859. In the early 1860s he turned to painting landscapes and seascapes, in which he could explore spatial structure and the effects of light. During this period he became friends with fellow landscape painter, Frederic Edwin Church, one of his few friends in the art world, and with whom he exchanged letters for over thirty years. Besides landscapes, Heade painted many still-lifes of flowers. After trips to South and Central America in 1863-1864, 1866, and 1870, he began painting hummingbirds and orchids in tropical settings. Heade was never fully accepted by the New York art establishment and for a period of time resumed his itinerant lifestyle. In 1883 he settled in Saint Augustine, Florida and married. He also found a patron, Henry Morrison Flagler, to commission his work, and continued to paint still-lifes, swamp scenes, and hummingbirds, until his death in 1904.

From the guide to the Martin Johnson Heade papers, 1853-1904, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) was a landscape, portrait, and still life painter.

Worked on the East coast and in the Mid-West. Visited Central and South America. Also naturalist and poet. Best known for painting tropical birds and flowers.

From the description of Martin Johnson Heade papers, 1853-1904. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 669909637

Landscape, portrait, and still life painter.

Worked on the East coast and in the Mid-West. Visited Central and South America. Also naturalist and poet. Best known for painting tropical birds and flowers.

From the description of Martin Johnson Heade papers, 1853-1904. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220236380

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Elizabeth McCausland papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904. Martin Johnson Heade : [vertical file]. Morris Museum of Art Library
referencedIn Louise Bruner papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Selections from George Henry Sargent autograph collection Archives of American Art
creatorOf Martin Johnson Heade collection Archives of American Art
creatorOf Albert Duveen collection of artists' letters and ephemera Archives of American Art
referencedIn Peridot-Washburn Gallery. Exhibitions, 1971-1972. Frick Art Reference Library
referencedIn Robert G. McIntyre papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf HEADE, MARTIN JOHNSON. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
referencedIn Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Martin Johnson Heade letter to Frederic Edwin Church Archives of American Art
creatorOf Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Heade, Martin Johnson, 1819-1904. Martin Johnson Heade : artist file : study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?-1990 [graphic] [compiled by staff of The Museum of Modern Art, New York]. Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection
referencedIn Heade, Martin Johnson : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
creatorOf Martin Johnson Heade papers Archives of American Art
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bruner, Louise Katherine, 1910- person
associatedWith Church, Frederic Edwin, 1826-1900. person
associatedWith Duveen, Albert, person
associatedWith McCausland, Elizabeth, 1899-1965. person
associatedWith McIntyre, Robert G. (Robert George), b. 1885. person
associatedWith Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Peridot-Washburn Gallery. corporateBody
associatedWith Sargent, George H. (George Henry), 1867-1931, person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State)--New York
Florida
United States
United States
Subject
Art, American
Art
Hummingbirds
Painters
Painters
Painting
Painting
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1819-08-11

Death 1904-09-04

Americans

Information

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