Martin Johnson Heade was born in Lumberville, Pennsylvania near the banks of the Delaware River.He became accomplished as an artist, naturalist, and poet.He was first educated in coach painting by Edward Hicks.Heade studied in Italy, France, and England. He kept a studio in the 10th Street Studio Building, New York City, from 1859 to 1861 and again, after the Civil War, from 1866 to 1879.A prolific painter, Heade exhibited his paintings in Boston, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and at the Natinal Academy of Design.Martin Johnson Heade is best known for his paintings of tropical birds and flowers and his Eastern salt marsh landscapes.His paintings have been preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Amon Carter Museum, and at other major museums