Hampstead Heath in December, by Edith Martineau (1842-1909). Watercolour, undated. Source: Huish, facing p. 150. As Kristina Huneault says, "Martineau's paintings are highly detailed and usually small." The generously spilling bracken here makes a wonderful contrast with the bare branches of the winter trees. (It is precisely this distinct: the scan has not been sharpened.) Hampstead Heath provided one of her unfailing sources of interest and there are other paintings similar to this one, executed at different seasons or from different approaches. The Martineaus lived close to the heath at 5 Eldon Road in Hampstead; this is where Edith died at the age of sixty-six, after a bout of influenza, on 19 February 1909.

Image scan and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.

Related Material

Bibliography

Huish, Marcus B. (Marcus Bourne). British Water Colour Art, in the First Year of the Reign of King Edward VII.... London: Fine Art Society and A & C. Black, 1904. Contributed by the Getty Research Foundation. Internet Archive. Web. 21 December 2018.

Huneault, Kristina. "Martineau, Edith (1842–1909), watercolour painter." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online Ed. Web. 21 December 2018.


Last modified 21 December 2018