Seascapes: John Marin

John Marin (American, 1870-1953) is known as one of the first American modernists and a major influence on Abstract Expressionism. Alfred Stieglitz recognised his importance early on, showing his work in his 291 Gallery nearly every year from 1909 until 1946. 

Marin worked primarily in watercolor, but later in his career began to work in oils as well. Marin first painted the rocky coast of Maine in 1914, and continued to interpret the subject throughout his life. Here are seven of his Maine seascapes, and one of the waters around the Brooklyn Bridge:

Cape Split 1935

Grey Ledges, Blue Breaking Sea watercolor 1937

The Sea, Maine watercolor and charcoal on paper 1921

Seascape oil on canvas 22" × 28.5" 1932

Fell Plummer's Wharf, Cape Split watercolor 14 3/4" × 20.5" 1933

The Bathers 1933

Headland, Cape Split, Maine watercolor, chalk and graphite 15 3/8" x 20 3/4" 1933

Brooklyn Bridge watercolor 1912

"Give paint a chance to show itself entirely as paint."

"Painting is like golf; the fewer strokes I take, the better the picture."

"What a life, seeing!"- John Marin

John Marin 1922 (Alfred Stieglitz, P