Sand Dunes, Wallace Head, Maine

1915

John Marin

(American, 1870–1953)

Culture

America

Medium

Watercolor over graphite on thick wove paper

Support

Cream(1) wove paper

Measurements

Sheet: 41.8 x 49.2 cm (16 7/16 x 19 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1946.256

Catalogue raisonné

Reich 15.35

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

John Marin worked closely with the important dealer and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who championed his work around the time this drawing was made.

Description

John Marin worked prolifically in watercolor, producing almost 2500 works in the medium during his long career. He was known for fragmented landscapes that convey a sense of energy and movement. An avid outdoorsman, Marin frequently depicted Maine, which he regularly visited beginning during the summer of 1914. This drawing is one of dozens that Marin made during 1915 while staying in Small Point. The composition veers toward abstraction, with areas of the paper left unpainted, layers of wash outlining dunes in the foreground, and schematically-rendered fir trees along the horizon. Marin worked creatively with watercolor, suggesting rough texture with agitated brush strokes and scribbled marks, translating his experience of nature to the viewer.