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Cloudy Day, Rhode Island
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
1861
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
29.53 x 64.45 cm (11 5/8 x 25 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865
Accession Number47.1158
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsPaintings
This early marsh scene already shows Heade's mastery of composition and his sensitivity to the changeability of weather. The primary focus is the dense atmosphere of threatening rain. The two figures, a fisherman and a child, appear to be African American-an interesting detail, as the nation was on the brink of the Civil War.
InscriptionsLower left: M J Heade/1861; lower right, on fence rail: M.J. Heade/1861
ProvenanceThe artist; auction, Brooklyn, New York; with Victor Spark, New York, 1944; with Macbeth, New York, 1945; to Maxim Karolik, Newport, R.I., 1945; to MFA, 1947, gift of Maxim Karolik.