PrintFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media Relations 202-268-2155
July 22, 2004
Stamp News Release No. 04-050
www.usps.com
ART OF MARTIN JOHNSON HEADE IS FIRST-CLASS CHOICE FOR USPS POSTAGE STAMP
WASHINGTON - A circa 1890 oil-on-canvas painting by Martin Johnson Heade, "Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth," will be the subject of the newest commemorative postage stamp in the U.S. Postal Service's American Treasures series. Heade is considered one of the finest 19th-century painters of landscapes and still lifes. The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony is scheduled for noon, PT, August 12, at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St., Rooms 306-308, Sacramento, CA. The ceremony is free and open to the public, and will take place during the first day of the American Philatelic Society's (APS) StampShow 2004.
"The Martin Johnson Heade stamp demonstrates the beauty and craftsmanship that is America," said Robert Rider, presidentially appointed member, U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, who will dedicate the stamp. "What better way for us to celebrate our culture ... our heritage ... and our history ... than through the diversity of designs in the American Treasures series that have captured the spirit and creativity of this nation."
In addition to Rider, others scheduled to participate in the ceremony are Janet Klug, president, American Philatelic Society; Elizabeth C. Pope, president, American Stamp Dealers Association; and John M. Hotchner, member, Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, U.S. Postal Service.
Inaugurated in 2001 with the Amish Quilts stamp pane, the American Treasures series showcases beautiful works of American fine art and crafts. The 2002 and 2003 issuances featured artwork by John James Audubon and Mary Cassatt respectively.
Born August 11, 1819, in rural Lumberville, PA, Martin Johnson Heade started painting in his late teens. He initially received instruction from the folk artist Edward Hicks and then traveled in the United States and Europe, copying works by the masters and painting portraits and genre scenes. In the late 1850s, influenced by Hudson River School artists such as Frederic Edwin Church, he began painting landscapes and still lifes.
From the early 1860s-when he began to develop his own very individual style-to the early 1880s, Heade painted coastal and inland views, floral still lifes and tropical landscapes with hummingbirds and flowers. He continued to travel, making three trips to South and Central America: Brazil in 1863-64; Nicaragua in 1866; and Colombia, Panama and Jamaica in 1870.
In 1883, Heade married and settled in St. Augustine, FL, continuing to paint in the realist style, which was then becoming out of date. He made numerous views of Florida's rivers and marshes, but his primary subject became the state's native flowers, especially the Cherokee rose and the giant magnolia.
Heade-who continued working until shortly before he died on September 4, 1904-had the longest career and was perhaps the most versatile of the 19th-century American painters. A prolific artist who exhibited widely, he was only moderately successful during his lifetime and was forgotten for decades after his death. Rediscovered in the 1940s, Heade is now respected and admired as a remarkably talented and innovative painter.
"Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth" was included in the mid-1980s exhibition "A New World: Masterpieces of American Painting, 1760-1910." Two major retrospective exhibitions of Heade's work were mounted in 1969 and 1999.
To see the Martin Johnson Heade stamp and other images from the 2004 Commemorative Stamp Program, visit the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop and click on "Release Schedule" in the Collector's Corner.
Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 800-STAMP-24. A wide selection of stamps and other philatelic items is also available at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. Beautifully framed prints of original stamp art for delivery straight to the home or office are available at www.postalartgallery.com.
Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency, the Postal Service makes deliveries to more than 141 million addresses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $68 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mail and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. Moreover, today's postage rates will remain stable until at least 2006. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 202 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves seven million customers each day at its 38,000 retail locations nationwide.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Issue: Martin Johnson Heade, Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet Cloth
Item Number: 673100
Denomination & Type of Issue: 37-cent commemorative
Format: Double Sided Convertible Booklet of 20 (1 design)
Series: American Treasures
Issue Date & City: August 12, 2004, Sacramento, CA 95813
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Artist: Martin Johnson Heade
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Typographer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Engraver: Southern Graphics Corp.
Modeler: Donald H. Woo
Manufacturing Process: Gravure
Printer: Sennett Security Products (SSP)
Printed at: American Packaging Corporation, Columbus, WI
Press Type: Cerutti, 950
Stamps per Book: 20
Print Quantity: 794 million stamps
Paper Type: Pre-phosphored, Type II
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Unique Binders, Fredericksburg, VA
Colors: Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Black
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.41 x 0.81 in./35.81 x 20.574 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.99 in./39.62 x 25.14 mm
Booklet Size (w x h) : 3.125 x 6.2083 in /79.37 x 157.69 mm
Plate Size: 432 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: "S" followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings: "2003 USPS" o Plate Numbers
Catalog Item Number(s): 673140 PSA Double Sided Book of 20 - $7.40
673161 First Day Cover - $0.75
HOW TO ORDER THE FIRST-DAY-OF-ISSUE POSTMARK
Customers have 30 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™, by telephone at 800-STAMP-24, and at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
MARTIN JOHNSON HEADE
GIANT MAGNOLIAS ON A BLUE VELVET CLOTH
POSTMASTER
2000 ROYAL OAK DR
SACRAMENTO CA 95813-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by
September 13, 2004.
HOW TO ORDER FIRST-DAY COVERS
Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly "USA Philatelic" catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:
INFORMATION FULFILLMENT
DEPT 6270
US POSTAL SERVICE
PO BOX 219014
KANSAS CITY MO 64121-9014
First day covers remain on sale for at least one year after the stamp's issuance.