The Portland Museum of Art presents John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury open June 23, 2011 – October 10, 2011.
John Marin sought Maine as a subject—its islands, mountains, beaches, and rocky shores—from 1917 onward. However, when he landed on Cape Split in 1933, he knew this remote and untamed northern locale would imprint his work, foregrounding the abstract properties that had always been a feature of his painting.
John Marin (United States, 1870 – 1953), Autumn Coloring No. 4, 1952, watercolor, graphite and ink, 14 x 18 1/2 inches. Estate of the artist, courtesy Meredith Ward Fine Art, New York. © Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Featuring approximately 60 works, this exhibition will concentrate on the late period of John Marin’s (1870–1953) career. It will explore the interrelationship between his watercolors, sketchbooks, and oil paintings during 1933-1953. Marin sensed the radical potential of painting on Cape Spilt, transforming the ephemeral patterns of waves in their alternative states of turbulence and calm into innovative compositions, forecasting, as it turns out, some of the primary features and preoccupations of mid-century American art.
John Marin: Modernism at Midcentury has been organized by the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Portland Museum of Art.
Generously supported by Isabelle and Scott Black.
Sponsorship provided by Bank of America, with additional support from The Bear Bookshop, Marlboro, Vermont. Media support is from WCSH 6, The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.
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