Charles Heyde, a landscape painter who became one of Vermont's most prominent 19th-century artists, discovered his calling through an unlikely connection to poet Walt Whitman and went on to document the state's "wild, bold beauty" during a period of rapid transformation. Mount Mansfield, one of his favorite subjects, featured prominently in many of his works, including a painting from around 1857 currently displayed at the Fleming Museum.
The artist's journey began with a remarkable studio visit in early 1850s Brooklyn. Two poets arrived at Heyde's painting studio - one in his early 30s, the other in his mid-50s. The older visitor was William Cullen Bryant, a widely celebrated poet whose nature-focused works served as metaphors for spiritual truth. Bryant's activism against slavery and his support for creating a central park in Manhattan made him a leading cultural figure in New York City and across the nation. For young Heyde (pronounced Hi-dee), Bryant's visit to admire his landscape paintings felt like a benediction, perhaps signaling his own potential for artistic greatness.
However, it was the younger poet who would prove more significant to Heyde's future. Walt Whitman, though virtually unknown at the time, had recently begun writing poems that would later appear in "Leaves of Grass," the collection that would make him a household name. Whitman liked Heyde enough to invite him to the Whitman family homestead, where the artist met and wooed Walt's favorite sister, Hannah. The couple married in March 1852, a union that Walt would later deeply regret.
That same year, Charles and Hannah traveled north to Vermont, taking the train to North Dorset. Like other members of the Hudson River School of landscape painters, Heyde sought inspiring views. This group of artists, named after one of their favorite subjects, worked roughly from 1825 to 1875 to depict America's natural beauty. While many painters made pilgrimages to the Hudson River Valley and New Hampshire's White Mountains, Heyde chose Vermont's less traveled artistic territory.
Heyde wrote rapturously about Vermont's scenery in a letter: "Nothing can exceed the wild, bold, natural beauty of this place at present. The hues are incomparable and the artist who in his studio imagines himself a creator or interpreter of nature and her glorious beauties, he finds himself humbled – a child in power, only possessing wonder, admiration and the conviction of his weakness."
For four years, the Heydes divided their time between Brooklyn and Vermont. Charles painted scenes along the Connecticut River, Saxtons River, the Batten Kill and the Black River, visiting Dorset, Rutland, Arlington and Bellows Falls. The couple moved from boardinghouse to boardinghouse, with Charles finding the work stimulating while Hannah wrote home about feeling lonely and struggling to form friendships due to their transient lifestyle.
In 1856, they moved to Vermont permanently, choosing the bustling port community of Burlington. The area provided scenery that Heyde would paint repeatedly – the peaks of Mount Mansfield and Camel's Hump, as well as Lake Champlain backed by the distant Adirondacks. However, Burlington's small population of less than 8,000 posed challenges for an artist trying to earn a living, especially compared to most Hudson River School painters who lived in major cities like New York, Boston, or Philadelphia.
Heyde proved enterprising in marketing his work. He sold paintings directly from his studio and arranged exhibitions in downtown storefront windows and hotel lobbies to catch travelers' attention. Greenville Benedict, editor of the Burlington Daily Free Press, became an admirer and frequently mentioned Heyde's paintings in his paper. A typical 1858 article, headlined "A Fine Painting," informed "lovers of art and Vermont scenery" that a Heyde landscape could be viewed at James Brinsmaid's store on Church Street, warning it would only be displayed for 10 days.
The artist established his studio at the corner of Maple Street and Water (now Battery) Street, in the Rutland and Burlington Railroad depot. This location proved extremely convenient for his painting expeditions. Thomas Pierce, co-curator of a 2001 Fleming Museum retrospective, discovered that many of Heyde's painting locations were near train tracks, theorizing that the artist took advantage of rapidly expanding rail lines.
Pierce's research revealed how Heyde visited locations repeatedly over the years, with his canvases recording landscape changes over time. Early views of Mount Mansfield from across Browns River in Jericho showed a line of trees along the water, but later canvases showed the trees gone – possibly due to flooding – while a barn missing in early pieces appeared in the midground. Surveying Heyde's works feels like watching a time-lapse film of Vermont's development during the second half of the 19th century.
Unlike many Hudson River School painters, Heyde didn't erase evidence of human habitation. His paintings often showed signs of expanding settlement, including tree stumps and dirt roads leading into wilderness, as well as technological advancements like trains dwarfed by serene scenery and steamboats on luminous Lake Champlain. His work suggested he believed Vermont's modern innovations and awe-inspiring nature were compatible.
Heyde's paintings continue resonating today. As UVM art professor William Lipke noted in a 2001 essay, many views Heyde depicted remain relatively unchanged and are "places of delight that identify the unique topographical and scenic features of the Champlain Valley." In 1862, Heyde won a prestigious commission from the Vermont Legislature to redesign the state coat of arms, incorporating symbols from the previous version – a pine tree, wheat sheaves, and a cow – against a backdrop of clearly identifiable Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield.
The Heydes found a permanent home in 1864, purchasing a brick house at 21 Pearl Street next to Battery Park, which offered spectacular views of Lake Champlain and the distant Adirondacks. However, the tranquil landscapes Heyde depicted contrasted sharply with his troubled home life. The marriage was increasingly rocky, with Hannah regularly writing to her family about her husband's abusive behavior.
"He does not hurt me much when he gets angry," Hannah wrote her mother in 1856, "he threatened to choke me to death, he has struck or pushed me about some, once he bit me a little on the shoulder, more to hurt, tore or ripped the sleeves of my dress that I wore but all that I care nothing at all about, if he would not talk so to me." She found it particularly difficult that Charles could "leave my room with the most horrid mouth and be as pleasant as any one you ever saw to any one he meets."
Charles complained about Hannah in letters to her family, addressing Walt as "Brother Walter" and calling Hannah lazy and neglectful of housework. He claimed she often took to her bed claiming illness, noisily interrupted him in his studio, and was suspiciously jealous when he returned from outings. The Whitmans supported Hannah but lacked financial resources to extract her from the apparently abusive marriage. Walt Whitman clearly regretted introducing his sister to this man he now called "a damned lazy scoundrel."
During this period, Heyde faced serious professional challenges as photography began competing with painters. "Because he was up against photography as competition he had to keep his paintings at a price that was affordable," explained Pierce. Critics say Heyde's later works don't measure up to earlier ones because "he couldn't spend a week doing a painting anymore, he had to spend two days, because the more you work it, the more expensive it becomes."
Some claim Heyde's work suffered due to excessive drinking and dementia signs, but Pierce disputes this assessment. He points to four paintings from the 1880s that recently came up for auction as fine examples of the artist's skill late in his career. Pierce suspects these were well-paid commissions that didn't require rushing.
The only known surviving portrait of Heyde appeared as an etching in a spring 1892 newspaper advertisement for Paine's Celery Compound, a patent medicine created by Windsor druggist Milton K. Paine and manufactured by a Burlington company. In the ad, Heyde and other prominent Vermonters offered testimonials about the product's virtues. "I avail myself of the privilege of thanking you – sincerely – for the refreshing sleep I have enjoyed through the efficacy of Paine's Celery Compound," Heyde stated. The product, which claimed to cure various ailments, was later revealed to contain about 20% alcohol.
Heyde was diagnosed with chronic dementia and admitted to the Vermont State Asylum in Waterbury, where he died on November 3, 1892. He was buried in Burlington's Lakeview Cemetery, a short distance from his Pearl Street home. Hannah remained in their house until her death in 1908, after which her body was transported to Brooklyn for burial. The Heydes' home stood until 1968, when urban renewal demolished it to make way for St. Paul's Cathedral.
The Fleming Museum staged its first Heyde retrospective in 1965, discovering 80 known paintings. For the 2001 show, Pierce and co-curator Eleazer Durfee tracked down another 74 works. Although some Heyde paintings were found as far away as Alaska, most never left the area, passed down through families and hanging over fireplaces or stored in attics. Pierce continues cataloging newly discovered pieces, with Heyde's known surviving works now numbering 226. Among unusual discoveries are four paintings from the early 1850s featuring New York's Hudson River, painted before Heyde ever visited Vermont. As Pierce noted, "our Hudson River painter has a Hudson River painting."
