Martin Johnson Heade
(1819-1904)

Martin Johnson Heade was born in 1819. He studied art with Edward and Thomas Hicks c.1838. Heade was a great luminist painter of the 19th century. He focused on four basic themes; atmospheric landscapes of marsh and shore, tropical hummingbirds in vivid color, floral still lifes and portraits, to a lesser extent. From 1841-83, Heade moved around extensively and in 1863 took his first of several trips to Brazil, Nicaragua and Jamaica. These trips were to prepare Heade to illustrate a book birds but publishers rejected it. Eventually he settled in St. Augustine, FL. Heade was primarily a portrait painter until the age of 40. Heade later became intent on conveying mood rather than realistic representation using distorted perspectives. He died in 1904.