Biography

American painter. He studied briefly with Edward Hicks and in Europe, and later traveled in Central and South America. During his long career he painted a great variety of subjects: portraits, luminous salt marsh scenes, seascapes (often with thunder storms), tropical landscapes, hummingbird and orchid pictures, and floral still-lifes.

Heade is associated with American luminism, particularly in his uniquely lit canvases of coming thunderstorms. He painted dramatic seascapes and landscapes of New England. In his nature studies, scientifically exact birds and plants are set against poetic backgrounds in eerie colours. His notable paintings include Orchids and Hummingbirds (Detroit Instute of Arts) and Approaching Storm: Beach near Newport (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).