Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904). Tropical Greenery (Tropical Landscape), 1875. Oil on canvas. 17-1/2 x 15 inc...

Description

Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904)
Tropical Greenery (Tropical Landscape), 1875
Oil on canvas
17-1/2 x 15 inches (44.5 x 38.1 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: M J Heade / 1875

PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTOR, ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, San Francisco, California;
Butterfield & Butterfield, San Francisco, California, November 6, 1986, lot 1931;
Alexander Gallery, New York;
Taggart and Jorgensen Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1988;
Sotheby's, New York, January 24, 1989, lot 54;
[With]Jim Ballard, Atlanta, Georgia;
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

LITERATURE:
T.E. Stebbins, Jr., The Life and Work of Martin Johnson Heade: A Critical Analysis and Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven, Connecticut, 2000, p. 261, no. 241, illustrated.

According to scholar Ted Stebbins, it is not surprising that Martin Johnson Heade would become one of the earliest proponents of "anti-picturesque" landscape painting in America, because he was an outsider. Largely self-taught, highly imaginative, independent, eager and driven, Heade never settled exclusively into one artistic specialty, but rather he chose to paint portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, marine scenes and still lifes. Though he did exhibit a number of his paintings at the National Academy of Design in New York in the late 1860's and 70's, Heade was never accepted into the NAD, even as an associate member, and therefore he never became a part of the New York art establishment.

Heade was a passionate naturalist, willing to travel by himself, far afield with extremely limited means, to seek out plants and animals that fascinated him. For instance, he ventured deep into Brazil to study his beloved orchids and hummingbirds, as well as other flora and fauna. His affinity to, and love of, the unchartered southern hemisphere is evident in the present work.

Although he was friends with fellow painter Frederic Church, Heade had an almost antithetical approach to Nature. Whilst Church and the other Hudson River School artists exalted the earth in their paintings, Heade sought to capture what was most beautiful and characteristic about it, painting the earth at its most tender and uncharacteristic. Stebbins perceptively notes that Heade did not shy from conveying a sense of foreboding or even danger in his landscapes as seen in Tropical Greenery (Tropical Landscape). This lush and verdant scene, projects a haunting stillness, reflecting the artist's tangible concern for the passage of time. The diagonal path draws the eye towards the depths of the tropical forest, while the sliver of light in the distance further romanticizes and highlights the lingering ominous tone. Perhaps this works embodies Heade's indomitable and alienated spirit, or perhaps it touches upon the weightiness of time upon nature. Nevertheless, a glimpse into Heade's brilliant and innovative mind is evident.


More information about Martin Johnson Heade. See also: Heade, Martin Johnson, Heade, Martin J. Artist.

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