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Coast of Jamaica
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
1874
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
66.99 x 110.81 cm (26 3/8 x 43 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Katharine H. Putnam and the John Pickering Lyman Collection, by exchange, in memory of Maxim Karolik
Accession Number1981.363
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsPaintings
Maxim Karolik loved Heade and gave the Museum many of his paintings as well as works by other nineteenth-century American artists. However, he had not acquired a large tropical landscape by Heade and the MFA purchased "Coast of Jamaica" in 1981, to fill this gap. The delicate handling of foliage, the luminous treatment of the sea, and the drama of the fast-moving storm make this painting a fitting addition to the Museum's unsurpassed collection of Heade's work.
InscriptionsLower right: M.J. Heade/1874
ProvenanceThe artist; Herrick family, Mass.; to MFA, 1981, purchase.