Hayden, Palmer C., 1890-1973

Palmer C. Hayden (1890-1973) was a painter from New York, N.Y.

He was born in Widewater, Va. First art instruction through correspondence courses. Studied 1925 with Asa Grant Randall at the Boothbay Art Colony, Maine, specialized in marine subjects. Lived in France, 1927-1932. Worked in the 1930s for easel painting divisions of federal art programs.

From the description of Palmer C. Hayden papers, 1920-1970. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 123430306

Born Peyton Cole Hedgeman, in Widewater, Virginia in 1890, Palmer Hayden received his first art instruction through correspondence courses, then studied in 1925 with Asa Grant Randall at the Boothbay Art Colony, in Maine, specializing in marine subjects. In 1927, Hayden’s seascape, Schooners, won first prize for "Distinguished Achievement in Fine Arts" in the Harmon Foundation's first awards ceremony. With that award, and an additional grant from a patron, Hayden was able to continue his studies in Paris, where he further developed his skills in seascapes and ethnic subject matter. Hayden was among the first African-American artists to use African-American subjects and designs in his painting.

Hayden returned to the United States in 1932 and worked steadily over the next several years for the United States government, including the Treasury Relief Art Project and the Works Progress Administration. In 1944 Hayden began work on his noted Ballad of John Henry series of twelve paintings that would occupy him for a decade. In his later work, Hayden continued to focus on African-American themes, capturing both rural gatherings in the South and the urban milieu of New York.

Palmer Hayden died in 1973.

From the guide to the Palmer C. Hayden papers, 1920-1970, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)