The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Marin Island (recto); Landscape (verso)

Marin Island (recto); Landscape (verso)

1914
(American, 1870–1953)
America, 20th century
Watercolor on thick wove paper
Sheet: 41.5 x 36.6 cm (16 5/16 x 14 7/16 in.)
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1950.87
© Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Though Marin Island became a painterly escape for the artist, it had no source of water and was not habitable for Marin’s family.

Description

Marin bought a small island off the coast of Maine, but never lived there due to its lack of running water. However, it provided the site for numerous watercolors during his first summers in Maine. He anchored this work’s rainbow palette with a pool of dark green in the center, one of the few elements that grounds the composition in space. The playful blue flicks in the sky suggest something nonrepresentational, such as light, or energy.
  • Lee, Sherman E. Chinese Landscape Painting. 1954. Mentioned: p. 158, cat. 127; Reproduced: p. 120 archive.org
  • Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
    America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985).
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Water Colors from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 23-September 16, 1973).
    Roots of Abstract Art in America. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC (December 2, 1965-January 9, 1966).
    1914. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 6-November 15, 1964).
    Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954).
    Ways of Painting Landscapes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 13-May 6, 1953).
  • {{cite web|title=Marin Island (recto); Landscape (verso)|url=false|author=John Marin|year=1914|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.87