Thimble Islands near New Haven

Details

MARTIN JOHNSON HEADE (1819-1904)
Thimble Islands near New Haven
signed and dated 'M.J. Heade/-75' (lower right)—indistinctly signed again and inscribed with title (on a label affixed to the stretcher)
oil on canvas
14 ¼ x 27 ¼ in. (36.2 x 69.2 cm.)
Painted in 1875.

Provenance

George P. Guerry, New York.
Private collection, New Jersey, acquired from the above, 1956.
Private collection, Winter Garden, Florida, gift from the above, 1990.
Christie's, New York, 25 March 2015, lot 85, sold by the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Literature

T.E. Stebbins, Jr., The Life and Works of Martin Johnson Heade, New Haven, Connecticut, 1975, p. 249, no. 189, illustrated.
C.L. Troyen, A Private Eye: Fifty Nineteenth-Century American Paintings, Drawings, & Watercolors from the Stebbins Collection, exhibition catalogue, Huntington, New York, 1977, p. 58n1.
T.E. Stebbins, Jr., Martin Johnson Heade, exhibition catalogue, Boston, Massachusetts, 1999, pp. 16-17, fig. 7, illustrated.
T.E. Stebbins, Jr., The Life and Work of Martin Johnson Heade: A Critical Analysis and Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven, Connecticut, 2000, p. 262, no. 242, illustrated.

Exhibited

New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Seascape and the American Imagination, June 10-September 7, 1975, p. 51, no. 53.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Paige Kestenman Vice President, Senior Specialist

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

pkestenman@christies.com +1 212 636 2139

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The present work depicts a view of the Thimble Islands, located off the coast of Branford, Connecticut, and is one of three known canvases produced by Martin Johnson Heade following his visit to the state in the summer of 1875. In this serene scene, Heade adopts a southward view across Long Island Sound, looking toward Long Island. According to Karen E. Quinn, "Thimble Islands near New Haven...and Thimble Island, about 1875-76 [Shelburne Museum, Vermont], depict low tide; in these works Heade contrasted dark rocks in the foreground to the subtly lit sky, and boats dot the horizon." ("Seascapes," in T.E. Stebbins, Jr., ed., Martin Johnson Heade, exhibition catalogue, Boston, Massachusetts, 1999, p. 17). Indeed, the subtle gradations of light in the sky are carefully reflected in the water, demonstrating Heade's mastery of nature's ephemeral qualities.

More from COLLECTOR/CONNOISSEUR: The Max N. Berry Collections; American Art Day Sale

View All