Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia
June 3 through September 10, 2017
Dramatic landscapes, exotic subjects and vibrant colors all characterize the work of the once forgotten artist Martin Johnson Heade. Now recognized as one of the most important American painters of the 19th century, Heade devoted equal time to landscape, marine and still-life subjects, but is best known for his studies of tropical birds and flowers.
The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present the exhibition “The Genius of Martin Johnson Heade” from June 3 through September 10, 2017. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition shows Heade’s creative range of work, from an early folk portrait to a late magnolia still life. The Georgia Museum of Art does not have any works by Heade in its permanent collection.
Born in 1819 in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, Heade first studied art with the folk artist Edward Hicks. From his rural beginnings, in a town where his family ran the general store, he traveled to Rome, Chicago, New York City, Brazil, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Colombia and Panama. His close friend, the artist Frederick Edwin Church, inspired his trips to South and Central America, but
Heade’s close-up views of tropical flora and fauna differed from Church’s dramatic landscapes painted there.
When Heade painted landscapes, he often focused on New England’s salt marshes and seascapes.
Late in his life, he wrote, of his travels south, “A few years after my first appearance in this breathtaking world [1863], I was attacked by the all-absorbing hummingbird craze, and it has never left me since.” His goal was to document the birds in an illustrated publication, much like John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” but he never managed to do so, although he painted more than 40 images for the project.
“This exhibition offers the museum the opportunity to closely examine Heade’s lush use of color and his meticulous attention to detail,” said Sarah Kate Gillespie, the museum’s curator of American art, “from his New England beaches to his South American hummingbirds and orchids.”
She added, “this exhibition also contextualizes Heade’s work amongst that of his contemporaries, allowing us to exhibit important artists we don’t have represented in our permanent collection, such as Asher B. Durand and Fitz Henry Lane. The conversations among these works and artists highlight Heade’s skill and accomplishment.”
Unlike many of these contemporaries, Heade was marginalized by the New York art world. For example, he was never offered membership in the National Academy of Design.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Dawn
1862
Oil on canvas
31.11 x 61.59 cm (12 1/4 x 24 1/4 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M. J. Heade-62
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Magnolia Grandiflora
about 1885–95
Oil on canvas
38.42 x 61.28 cm (15 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left center: M.J. Heade
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900)
Cayambe
1858
Oil on canvas
30.48 x 45.72 cm (12 x 18 in.)
Gift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Center left: F. Church/58
Albert Bierstadt (American (born in Germany), 1830–1902)
Lake Tahoe, California
1867
Oil on canvas
55.56 x 76.2 cm (21 7/8 x 30 in.)
Gift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: ABierstadt/67 [AB in monogram]
Fitz Henry Lane (American, 1804–1865)
Fresh Water Cove from Dolliver's Neck, Gloucester
early 1850s
Gloucester, Massachusetts, America
Oil on canvas
61.28 x 91.76 cm (24 1/8 x 36 1/8 in.)
Bequest of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815-1865
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
The Stranded Boat
1863
Oil on canvas
58.1 x 93.66 cm (22 7/8 x 36 7/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J. Heade/1863
14. 64.430
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Lake George
1862
Oil on canvas
66.04 x 125.41 cm (26 x 49 3/8 in.)
Bequest of Maxim Karolik
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J Heade/62.
The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present the exhibition “The Genius of Martin Johnson Heade” from June 3 through September 10, 2017. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition shows Heade’s creative range of work, from an early folk portrait to a late magnolia still life. The Georgia Museum of Art does not have any works by Heade in its permanent collection.
Born in 1819 in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, Heade first studied art with the folk artist Edward Hicks. From his rural beginnings, in a town where his family ran the general store, he traveled to Rome, Chicago, New York City, Brazil, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Colombia and Panama. His close friend, the artist Frederick Edwin Church, inspired his trips to South and Central America, but
Martin Johnson Heade, Orchids and Hummingbird, 1875-83. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds
about 1870–83
Oil on canvas
39.37 x 54.93 cm (15 1/2 x 21 5/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: M J Heade
Heade’s close-up views of tropical flora and fauna differed from Church’s dramatic landscapes painted there.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Approaching Storm: Beach near Newport
about 1861–62
Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Lower left: M. J. Heade 186[?]
71.12 x 148.27 cm (28 x 58 3/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
When Heade painted landscapes, he often focused on New England’s salt marshes and seascapes.
Late in his life, he wrote, of his travels south, “A few years after my first appearance in this breathtaking world [1863], I was attacked by the all-absorbing hummingbird craze, and it has never left me since.” His goal was to document the birds in an illustrated publication, much like John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” but he never managed to do so, although he painted more than 40 images for the project.
“This exhibition offers the museum the opportunity to closely examine Heade’s lush use of color and his meticulous attention to detail,” said Sarah Kate Gillespie, the museum’s curator of American art, “from his New England beaches to his South American hummingbirds and orchids.”
She added, “this exhibition also contextualizes Heade’s work amongst that of his contemporaries, allowing us to exhibit important artists we don’t have represented in our permanent collection, such as Asher B. Durand and Fitz Henry Lane. The conversations among these works and artists highlight Heade’s skill and accomplishment.”
Unlike many of these contemporaries, Heade was marginalized by the New York art world. For example, he was never offered membership in the National Academy of Design.
Washington Allston (American, 1779–1843) Rising of a Thunderstorm at Sea
1804
Oil on canvas
97.15 x 129.54 cm (38 1/4 x 51 in.)
Everett Fund
1804
Oil on canvas
97.15 x 129.54 cm (38 1/4 x 51 in.)
Everett Fund
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Dawn
1862
Oil on canvas
31.11 x 61.59 cm (12 1/4 x 24 1/4 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M. J. Heade-62
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Salt Marshes,
about 1866–76
Oil on canvas
39.37 x 76.83 cm (15 1/2 x 30 1/4 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: M.J. Heade
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
South American River
1868
Oil on canvas
66.04 x 57.47 cm (26 x 22 5/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: M J Heade 68.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Sunset on Long Beach
about 1867
Oil on canvas
25.72 x 55.88 cm (10 1/8 x 22 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J Heade
Salt Marshes,
about 1866–76
Oil on canvas
39.37 x 76.83 cm (15 1/2 x 30 1/4 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: M.J. Heade
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
South American River
1868
Oil on canvas
66.04 x 57.47 cm (26 x 22 5/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: M J Heade 68.
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Sunset on Long Beach
about 1867
Oil on canvas
25.72 x 55.88 cm (10 1/8 x 22 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J Heade
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Magnolia Grandiflora
about 1885–95
Oil on canvas
38.42 x 61.28 cm (15 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left center: M.J. Heade
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900)
Cayambe
1858
Oil on canvas
30.48 x 45.72 cm (12 x 18 in.)
Gift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Center left: F. Church/58
Albert Bierstadt (American (born in Germany), 1830–1902)
Lake Tahoe, California
1867
Oil on canvas
55.56 x 76.2 cm (21 7/8 x 30 in.)
Gift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower left: ABierstadt/67 [AB in monogram]
Fitz Henry Lane (American, 1804–1865)
Fresh Water Cove from Dolliver's Neck, Gloucester
early 1850s
Gloucester, Massachusetts, America
Oil on canvas
61.28 x 91.76 cm (24 1/8 x 36 1/8 in.)
Bequest of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815-1865
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
The Stranded Boat
1863
Oil on canvas
58.1 x 93.66 cm (22 7/8 x 36 7/8 in.)
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J. Heade/1863
14. 64.430
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Lake George
1862
Oil on canvas
66.04 x 125.41 cm (26 x 49 3/8 in.)
Bequest of Maxim Karolik
Inscriptions: Lower right: M J Heade/62.
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