Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds

1871

Martin Johnson Heade

Artist, American, 1819 - 1904

Against a distant, hazy, verdant forest, a petal-pink and amethyst-purple orchid grows from a mossy branch close to us, to our left, while three jewel-toned hummingbirds gather around a nest to our right in this horizontal painting. Two pale pink, ruffled petals of the orchid flare up and out from the hot-pink, furled center. The lip-like petal below is amethyst purple brushed with pale yellow along its top. Three narrow, pink petals create a triangle behind the center of the bloom. Some of the pale honeydew-green pods and leaves growing from the base of the plant are speckled with brown spots. The orchid grows on a gnarled brown branch painted with daubs of white, burnt orange, goldenrod yellow, and scarlet red along its length, which spans the width of the painting. Three hummingbirds with narrow, pointed beaks tend a nest built further along the branch to the right of the orchid. The largest is perched with its back to us. It has a vibrant green body and a two-pronged, crimson-red tail. Its head is turned up and to our left, looking at the second bird fluttering on a branch across the nest. The second bird’s avocado-green and dusty rose-pink body curves downward from outstretched wings. The third bird is perched on a nearby branch to our left, its head turned to the right to look at the others. Two white eggs are partially visible in the nest, which is shaped like an upside-down cone. The nest is woven with wavy, dangling strands of burnt-orange plant material. The orchid, birds, and nest fill the center of the composition. The scene is brightly lit from upper left. More leafy branches covered with hanging vines rise on either side of the painting. The background is filled with a dense growth of plants and trees, painted with blended shades of muted greens and pinks creating a diffuse, watery haze. The sky takes up the upper third of the composition and is filled with smoke-gray clouds except for a small circle of blue sky peeking through the branches of the tree in the upper right.

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Heade offered viewers an intimate glimpse into the exotic recesses of nature's secret garden. Lichen covers dead branches; moss drips from trees; and, a blue-gray mist veils the distant jungle. An opulent pink orchid with light-green stems and pods dominates the left foreground. To the right, perched near a nest on a branch, are a Sappho Comet, green with a yellow throat and brilliant red tail feathers, and two green-and-pink Brazilian Amethysts.

Perhaps inspired by the writings of Charles Darwin, the artist studied these subjects in the wild during several expeditions to South America. The precisely rendered flora and fauna seem alive in their natural habitat, not mere specimens for scientific analysis. Defying strict categorization as either still life or landscape, Heade's work reflects the artist's unerring attention to detail and his delight in the infinitesimal joys of nature.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I, pages 291-295, which is available as a free PDF at https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/american-paintings-19th-century-part-1.pdf

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection; (sale, Adam A. Weschler & Son, Washington, D.C., 21-23 May 1982, 3rd day, no. 1316);[1] (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York); purchased 14 October 1982 by NGA.
[1] Adam A. Weschler & Son, 18th - 20th Century American, English, Continental and Oriental Furniture and Decorations, Paintings, Silver, Crystal, Porcelains, Antiquities, Rugs, Bronzes, Clocks, Jewelry, Cameo Glass, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Objects of Virtu, etc., Washington, D.C., 23 May 1982.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1999

  • Martin Johnson Heade, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999-2000, no. 57, repro.

2009

  • Endless Forms: Charles Darwin, Natural Science, and the Visual Arts, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2009, no. 185, fig. 262.

2018

  • Es war einmal in Amerika: 300 Jahre US-Amerikanische Kunst [Once Upon a Time in America: Three Centuries of US-American Art], Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, 2018-2019, no. 46, repro.

Bibliography

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 549, no. 833, color repro.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 13-14, repro.

1989

  • American Paintings from the Manoogian Collection. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington, D.C., 1989:

  • Manthorne, Katherine Emma. Tropical Renaissance: North American Artists Exploring Latin America, 1839-1879. Washington, D.C., and London, 1989: 118, 120, fig. 61.

1990

  • American Originals: Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Exh. cat. American Federation of Arts, New York, 1990: 68.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 292, color repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 197, repro.

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 240, repro.

1996

  • Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 291-295, color repro.

1997

  • Kratz, Otto. Alexander von Humboldt: Wissenschaftler - Weltbürger - Revolutionär, Munich, 1997: 166-167, repro.

1999

  • Martin Johnson Heade. Exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999-2000: no. 57.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 313, no. 253, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: M. J. Heade / 1871

Wikidata ID

Q5054118

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