Aaron Anderson
Specialist, Head of Sale
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM DANA LIPPMAN
Lot 53
Martin Johnson Heade(1819-1904)Coastal Scene 15 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (39.4 x 62.2 cm.)
7 November 2023, 14:00 EST
New YorkUS$150,000 - US$250,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our American Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Morgan Martin
Head of Department
Mary Manfredi
Cataloguer & Sale Coordinator
Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904)
Coastal Scene
signed 'MJ Heade' (lower right)
oil on canvas
15 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (39.4 x 62.2 cm.)
Painted circa 1867.
signed 'MJ Heade' (lower right)
oil on canvas
15 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (39.4 x 62.2 cm.)
Painted circa 1867.
Footnotes
Provenance
George Washington Heed (1823-1909), Lumberville, Pennsylvania, brother of the artist, from the artist.
Samuel Heed (1869-1963), Solebury, Pennsylvania, son of the above, from the above.
Elsa Ross (nee Heed) Housley (1901-1985), Doylestown, Pennsylvania, daughter of the above, from the above.
By descent within the family of the above.
Sale, Christie's, New York, September 22, 1993, lot 39, sold by the above. (as New England Coastal Scene)
Charles A. Sterling (d.2008), Haverford, Pennsylvania and Sanibel, Florida.
Island Weiss Gallery, New York.
Alexander Gallery, New York.
Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York. (as Point Judith, Rhode Island)
Acquired by the late owner from the above, 2002.
Exhibited
Florida, Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, on loan 1986-1987.
Literature
T.E. Stebbins Jr., The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade, New Haven, Connecticut, 1975, pp. 233, 296, no. 109, illustrated. (as Coast Scene, South America)
S. Cash, C.M. Barry, Ominous Hush: The Thunderstorm Paintings of Martin Johnson Heade, Fort Worth, Texas, 1994, pp. 32, 52.
T.E. Stebbins, Jr., The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade, New Haven, Connecticut, 2000, p. 245, no. 175, illustrated.
Coastal Scene by Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) is a fine and dramatic example from a series of canvases Heade completed throughout the 1860s that depict nocturnal, stormy marshes and coastlines. In the present work, Heade infused his monumental rolling clouds with luminous reds, pinks, and oranges and beautifully contrasts them by the looming sky that blankets the landscape below in darkness. Heade's work depicts either the calm before an approaching storm, or the chilling silence in its aftermath.
Heade imbued the present work with motion to capture the viewer's gaze at every turn. In the foreground, a lone fisherman treks through the rolling waves with the day's catch in tow. It is uncertain if he is racing for shelter in the eye of the storm or trudging back towards the shoreline in its aftermath. Sailboats glide in the immediate foreground and simultaneously off into the distance. A band of light illuminates the horizon line, adding a layer of depth to the composition.
Coastal Scene is believed to be an oil study for an unlocated work by Heade titled Point Judith, RI (1867, location unknown). The only traces of this work in Heade's oeuvre are linked to the present work and an engraving reproduced in the June 29th, 1867 edition of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. In Point Judith, RI, Heade depicts a shipwreck washed up on the shoreline and there are several other geographic markers that have been altered or added when compared to the present work. The lack of identifiable geographical markers in the present work has led to the misidentification of the landscape as an image of South America, another environment Heade is best known for painting.
Heade lived and worked in Rhode Island throughout the mid-to-late 1800s and returned frequently to the coastal landscape of Point Judith. Arguably, his time spent painting along the Rhode Island coast enabled him to define his unique luminist style. Heade's paintings of Point Judith can be found in museum collections across the country, such as in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Cleavland Museum of Art. While Heade's paintings of Point Judith share the same breathtaking landscape, the focal point of each work is unique. In some instances, he explores the calm moonlight reverberating on the water or a calm day at sea. In the present work, his mastery of capturing the interplay of light in a landscape shines through.