Untitled
c. 1923
Medium
watercolor and charcoal on thin wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 38.6 x 47.2 cm (15 3/16 x 18 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of John Marin, Jr.
Accession Number
1986.54.126
Art Historical Context
John Marin (1870–3), a pioneering American, created this untitled watercolor and charcoal drawing around 1923, during a vibrant period when he was pushing the boundaries of American art Associated with Alfred Stieglitz's at Gallery 291, Marin drew inspiration from European modernists like Whistler and Cézanne, yet forged a distinctive style blending abstraction with rhythmic energy. His works often captured the pulse of urban New York or Maine's rugged coastlines, reflecting the dynamism of the Jazz Age and America's post-World War I awakening to modernism. Rendered on thin wove paper—a delic...
About the Artist
John Marin
John Marin (1870-1953) was a pioneering American modernist known for his dynamic watercolors and oils of the Maine coast and New York City. A late bloomer who didn't commit to art until nearly 30, Marin developed a distinctive style combining European modernism with American subjects, capturing the energy of skyscrapers and the elemental power of the sea through fractured planes, vibrant color, an...