Headed for Boston
1923
John Marin American, 1870-1953
United States
By the time Marin painted this dramatic image of a schooner riding the currents from Stonington to Boston, he had become known for his keen sensitivity to the unique properties of Maine, especially the life of the sea. His passion for boats was celebrated and, along with his forceful and emotional handling of paint, this subject became an icon of his persona. Here Marin used his wide three-centimeter brush, working the watercolor so vigorously that bristles became lodged on the work’s surface. The distinctive silver shadow-box frame—designed by Stieglitz—sets the watercolor back in space and reflects the artist’s interest in balancing oppositional visual forces.
Watercolor with blotting and touches of scraping, and with charcoal with erasing, on moderately thick (estimated), moderately textured, ivory wove paper (right and lower edges trimmed), perimeter mounted to wood-pulp board, faced with ivory paper gilt with silver leaf, in original frame