laila/cattleya painting - what is it? - Orchid Board

jason woodrue · #1 09-29-2008, 10:22 PM

Hi all,

we just put this painting on display in the museum where i work (it is my favorite painting in our collection). anyway, the artists last name is Heade. the curator, Kim, says an expert has identified the orchid in the past. I asked her for a jpeg of the image to ask y'all your ID opinion of the species? I told her I'd get back to her with my orchid friends opinion on its identification. I do not know what it has been identified as, but the text accompanying the exhibit does state that it is from Brazil. So what do we think?

Hi Mike, here's an image of the Heade, with the usual caveat that it should not be used for publication. I found out the species has been identified and will let you know -- we'll see if your fellow orchid fans agree!
Kimberly Orcutt, Ph.D.
Associate Curator of American Art

Becca · #2 09-29-2008, 11:28 PM

I am of no help....but OMG that painting is beautiful!

Tindomul · #3 09-29-2008, 11:32 PM

Wild guess, I would say, Cattleya trianae.

gixrj18 · #4 09-30-2008, 12:21 AM

C. trianae or C. percivaliana would be my guesses.

blackorchid · #5 09-30-2008, 10:48 AM

Ok, the lips of the flower has a unique pattern that reminds me of Cattleya mossiae, plus the funnel shape of the lip and its yellow eyes on the side:
IOSPE PHOTOS
However, it could also be C. percivaliana but a very FINE clone of percivaliana indeed.

blackorchid · #6 09-30-2008, 11:02 AM

Ok I did another search based on where the orchid was found and I found that Cattleya labiata are the most likely case because both mossiae, and perciavliana are from Venezuela, trianae is from Colombia.
Take a look:
IOSPE PHOTOS

Morningstarorchids · #7 09-30-2008, 03:57 PM

The looks like the Dianard " Blue Heaven" I am trying to insert a picture, but can't figure it out,

jason woodrue · #8 10-01-2008, 04:33 PM

I am with blackorchid on this one... i think it is cattleya labiata from brazil. also i did not indicate before but it was painted in 1872 - so i believe that means it must be a species, not a hybrid.
the artist, Martin Johnson Heade, American lived from 1819 - 1904. I will check in with Kim our American painting curator and see if she has located the info on the orchid's identity...

Royal · #9 10-01-2008, 06:02 PM

Curator Kim doesn't know who she's dealing with!

I'm just waiting for Mauro to chime in. Lots of smart AOS judges here too. Someone will nail it for sure.

I'm no authority, but it looks just like Frank's C. maxima.Cattleya maxima

Rosim_in_BR · #10 10-02-2008, 09:10 AM

If this is a Brazilian plant, there are only two possibilities: or well it is Cattleya labiata or well Cattleya warneri.
The plant is pictured in the wild and the acompanying info says it has been done in 1882. So, a few considerations my cast some light:
- C. labiata was discoverd in 1819, but remained lost until 1889. Despite the enourmous efforts to find it again, nobody knew where it really grew in 1882. On the other hand, C. warneri habitats were well known.
- Cattleya labiata growing habit is definitely upright, the pseudo bulbs growing orderly (no matter in what direction), and this is not what is seen in the picture. On the other hand, C. warneri has exactly that kind of sprawling growing habit.
- It is seldom seen in Cattleya labiata the petals bending as down as seen in the painting, but it is a well-known characteristic in C. warneri.
The flower general color and the lip patterns fit to both Cattleya labiata and warneri, but the flower size compared to the plant size seems to point again to C. warneri, which has large flowers for the size of the plant.
For all this and taking into account that this is a Brazilian plant, then I'd say it is Cattleya warneri T. Moore ex R.Warner.