Palmer Hayden was born on January 15, 1890 in Widewater, Virginia; to his given birth name, Peyton Cole Hedgeman. It wasn't until his service during World War I that his commanding sergeant gave him the name Palmer Hayden. Hayden was inspired to draw by his older brother and began drawing landscapes when he was very young. During his teenage years, Hayden moved to New York City in search of work. He got a job as a porter. While working, he would draw boats and fishermen. Boredom from his job as errand boy, led him to pursue a career in art. Unfortunately, he was rejected from a job at a local newspaper because he was black. Hayden then became a laborer for two different circuses before joining a black army company stationed in the Philippines. When he returned, he worked as a deliveryman at West Point. Afterwards, he moved to Greenwich Village to pursue his art career. His career started out slowly causing him to get a janitor's job to support himself during this rough time. Between 1925 and 1926, Hayden's work began appearing in the Society of Independent artists. In April, 1926 at the Civic Club, Hayden hosted his first solo show. His art had great popularity in Europe, but not in the U.S due to the fact that he was attacked by the press for his former job as a janitor; they claimed he had no artistic training. In 1926, his still life, Fetiche et Fleurs, a painting of a Fang mask from Gabon and Bakuba raffia cloth from the Congo, won the Harmon Foundation's gold award. The combination of the award and a grant made it possible for Hayden to study in Paris. He firmly established his interest in ethnic subject matter. In 1932, he returned to the United States and worked for the US government. After a brief stint working for the government, he worked freelance. His works focused on the African American experience. Midsummer Night in Harlem exemplifies the culture of the Harlem Renaissance. It shows how all of the residents of Harlem were primarily black and also depicted the fashion of the time. People are dressed in a variety of ways as in any community. Some men are wearing a simple shirt and pants, while others are wearing a full suit. It is able to capture how revolutionary this African American sub culture was and also how African Americans were united as one. The work also successfully illustrates the buildings of Harlem, three to eight story brick buildings placed closely together.