Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds

Martin Johnson Heade

1871 · Oil on panel · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds

Approaching Thunder Storm

Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904)
Year: 1871
Medium: Oil on panel
Original size: 34.8 × 45.6 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Movement: Hudson River School

A large pink cattleya orchid, with pale green stems and seed pods, dominates the left of a small mahogany panel, while to the right a Sappho Comet with a brilliant red tail perches beside a nest and two green-and-pink Brazilian Amethysts hover nearby; lichen-covered branches, dripping moss and a blue-grey mist over the distant jungle complete the scene. Heade travelled to Brazil in the 1860s planning a lavish book on hummingbirds, The Gems of Brazil, and although the book was abandoned he went on combining the birds with orchids and tropical backgrounds through the 1870s. Painted in 1871, this is one of the finest of those pictures, neither still life nor landscape but something of both, its scientific exactness touched by Darwin's new ideas. The National Gallery of Art in Washington acquired it in 1982.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A pink orchid and three hummingbirds in a misty jungle on a small panel, best kept small: a bedroom, bathroom or reading corner at 12×18 or 16×24 in black or natural wood. A sage, white or blush wall; it sits well with botanical plates.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Hudson River School painting
Era: 19th century (1871)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: classic
Rooms: bedroom, bathroom, study or library, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, her, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 12×18. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds in the public domain?

Yes. Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Gallery of Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds painted, and in what medium?

Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds dates from 1871 and was made in oil on panel; the original measures 34.8 × 45.6 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds we'd choose 12×18.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Martin Johnson Heade's Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds — a pink cattleya orchid and three hummingbirds in a misty Brazilian jungle — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Luminism: Light on Still Water, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as