Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

York Harbor, Coast of Maine

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1877

Artist:

Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)

About this artwork

This painting represents Martin Johnson Heade’s mature style from the 1870s and contains many of the compositional elements that have led modern scholars to celebrate the artist as a proponent of Luminism. A 20th-century term, Luminism has consistently been linked to the 19th-century philosophical doctrine of transcendentalism. Stylistically, it is characterized by a horizontal format; tight, invisible brushwork; and pervasive light emanating from an unseen source. Together these qualities embody the intellectual spirit of the American writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), who found transcendental unity in the contemplation of nature’s stillness.

Status

On View, Gallery 170

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Martin Johnson Heade

Title

York Harbor, Coast of Maine

Place

York Harbor (Place depicted)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1877

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed, lower left: M.J. Heade

Dimensions

38.7 × 76.8 cm (15 1/4 × 30 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Herbert A. Vance; Americana, Lacy Armour and Roger McCormick endowments; through prior gifts of Dr. and Mrs. R. Gordon Brown, Emily Crane Chadbourne, George F. Harding Collection, Brooks McCormick, and James S. Pennington

Reference Number

1999.291

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/152747/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share