 This expansive landscape, bathed in the golden light of late afternoon, is among Heade¹s strongest salt marsh pictures. The low horizon, alternating zones of light and dark, and carefully placed haystacks create a strong sense of recession into the distance, while the line of clouds and the horizontal proportions of the canvas accentuate the feeling of lateral space. In the middle distance farmers rake salt hay and load it into a wagon before stacking it for storage and drying. |
| Martin Johnson Heade, Hayfields: A Clear Day,
c. 1871 - 1880 Collection of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, Jr. |