American

John Marin

U.S. 1870-1953
Adirondacks I 93.0002

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John Marin is considered one of the outstanding watercolorists of the twentieth century. Many of his compositions, such as Adirondacks I, include mountains. These typically exude the Fauve-like lyricism of Henri Matisse while creating delicate atmospheric effects similar to James McNeill Whistler's. The Armory Show in 1913 made a profound impact upon Marin's outlook and style. In Europe, he had failed to come into contact with avant-garde movements and artists, being drawn primarily to Whistler's work, but after the exposure and serious attention abstraction received at the Armory Show, Marin began to develop a much more distinctive and abstract approach to his two favorite subjects-city life in New York and scenes of the Maine coast. Marin was nearly thirty, working as an architectural draughtsman, before he decided to attend Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and then the Art Students' League. Traveling to Europe in 1905, Marin stayed for five years, mainly in Paris, to pursue additional studies. While in Paris, he was discovered by the American photographer Edward Steichen, who in turn, introduced him to Alfred Stieglitz. Marin exhibited at Stieglitz's New York gallery, "291" alongside Max Weber, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Stieglitz continued to support Marin's artistic endeavors, and the two formed a life-long friendship

 

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