Q.
They are the most intriguing birds, with their Formula 1 wings, Mr Fantastic tongues, and iridescent protein feathers.  Who are some artists who have worked to capture hummingbird beauty on canvas?

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A.

Painter and naturalist Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) was one. Heade was utterly taken with these tinkerbirds, spending six full months painting them in Brazil.

As he wrote: ‘A few years after my first appearance in this breathtaking world [1863], I was attacked by the all-absorbing hummingbird craze, and it has never left me since.’ He also contributed more than 100 articles on hummingbirds to ‘Forest and Stream.’

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Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds. ~1870-83

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Martin Johnson Heade. Orchid with Two Hummingbirds. 1871

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.Hummingbird and Apple Blossoms. 1875
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Hummingbird and Passion Flowers. 1875-85

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Other artists who shared Heade’s hummingbird fascination….

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John Gould. Thalurania Refulgens (Refulgent Wood-Nymph). 1854

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John Gould. Selasphorus floresii: Floresi’s Flamebearer. 1855

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Schreiber’s Hummingbird, from the Birds of the Tropics series. Allen & Ginter. 1889

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www.justcurious.ca

Header Image: Frances Flora Bond Palmer. Landscape – Fruit and Flowers. 1862