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Artist
Martin Johnson Heade
Title
The Magnolia Blossom
Date
1888
Culture
American
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
38.4 x 61.3 cm (15-1/8 x 24-1/8 in.)
Accession Number
1965:001
Credit Line
Martin Johnson Heade, The Magnolia Blossom, 1888, oil on canvas, 38.4 x 61.3 cm (15-1/8 x 24-1/8 in.), Putnam Foundation, Timken Museum of Art
Full view of The Magnolia Blossom
Description
Martin Johnson Heade initially became known for his New England landscapesand still lifes of Brazilian hummingbirds and orchids. Later in life, in 1883, he moved to Florida, which marked an important turning point in his career. Of the new flowers that interested him, the giant magnolia became the chief theme of his late still lifes.
In this painting, he gives the voluptuous blossom an added note of luxury by placing it on a generous and striking red cloth. The flower and leaves are perfect, without natural flaws that would mar their surfaces. The color contrasts, the crisp edges of both leaves and petals, and the
realistic treatment of light give the forms a strong presence and heighten their symbolic sensuality.

Related Information / Media

Provenance

U.S. Senator George Hearst of California, Washington, D.C.; Given on May 2, 1890, to Peter Petersen Toft, London; William Postar, Boston; Acquired by the Putnam Foundation, 1965

Exhibited

Tulsa, Oklahoma, Philbrook Art Center; The Oakland Museum; Baltimore Museum of Art; and New York, National Academy of Design, 1981,
Painters of the Humble Truth: Masterpieces of American Still Life, 1801-1939, cat. by William H. Gerdts, pp. 13, 130, pl. 13.

Literature

Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade (New Haven, 1975), pp. 174, 276, no. 327, ill; Barbara Novak,
Nature and Culture: American Landscapes and Painting, 1825-1875 (New York, 1980), pp. 122, 127, fig. 65; Timken Art Gallery: European and American Works of Art in the Putnam FoundationCollection (San Diego, 1983), pp. 98-99,125, no. 36, ill.

Note

This record has been reviewed by Timken Museum of Art staff and may be incomplete or contain errors. Our records are constantly revised. Inquiries about provenance are advised to contact the Director of Curatorial Affairs: curator@timkenmuseum.org.