Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth

Martin Johnson Heade

1890 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth

Approaching Thunder Storm

Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds

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

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

Ships worldwide in 3–6 business days after production

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904)
Year: 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 38.4 × 61.5 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Movement: Hudson River School

Huge creamy magnolia blossoms with glossy dark leaves lie on a cloth of deep blue velvet against a shadowed background, their petals lit so strongly that they seem to glow. Heade painted it in 1890 in St Augustine, Florida, where he had settled in 1883 after marrying for the first time at sixty-four, following a restless career in the Northeast with only modest success. There he found his one important patron, the oil and railroad magnate Henry Flagler, and the stability seems to have released a late flowering of still lifes: roses, magnolias and other flowers laid on velvet. This is the most admired of them, often described as sensual, its curving contours and implied perfume likened to a reclining nude. Heade is the only major nineteenth-century American painter to matter in landscape, marine and still life alike. The National Gallery of Art acquired it in 1996.

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

Where it works

Creamy magnolias glowing on deep blue velvet, sensual and dark, for a bedroom, dining room or dressing room at 16×24 or 24×36 in black. A navy, charcoal or deep green wall lets the petals glow; brass lamplight suits it.

Style: Exhibition poster of a Hudson River School painting
Era: 19th century (1890)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: blush pink, cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: living room, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. 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; 12×18 and 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. 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 Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth 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; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth painted, and in what medium?

Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth dates from 1890 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 38.4 × 61.5 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Martin Johnson Heade's Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth — giant magnolia blossoms laid on a blue velvet cloth, their creamy petals glowing against the dark — 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. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. 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 ~4–8 business days.

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