A early naturalist, Munsey Seymour sought out remote corners of the world in their unaltered states to paint into his scenes. The wilderness of the American and Canadian Rockies were favorite destinations, and paintings of waterfalls from these regions are known. He also adventured through the Northern United States, and the Hawaiian Islands in this pursuit.
In this absolutely luminescent setting of a sandy stretch of low coastal dunes and flora, a Little Blue Heron or possibly a Sandhill Crane, two of the 16 species of birds of either type indigenous to the Hawaiian chain, is at rest in a small pond of water. More water is held within the swiftly moving clouds, helping to illuminate the suns rays on their reflective angle. The "Big Island" location of Puhoa near Hilo is still a protected nature reserve today, with the junction of the Wailoa River and the Pacific making for large expanse of natural wetlands and habitat.
It is unrecorded where Seymour first studied his profession, but the Brooklyn Academy of Art lists his birthplace as Calcutta, India. He exhibited with that prestigious institution and the National Academy of Design in 1882-84, while living in New York. Two of his known paintings in the McCord Museum of Canadian History and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottowa, Ontario are reflective of his earlier peers in the Hudson River School. This is a rare and unique late 19th Century view of Hawaii, still in its original period Whistler frame.
