Sand Dunes, Wallace Head, Maine

1915

Sand Dunes, Wallace Head, Maine, 1915. John Marin (American, 1870–1953). Watercolor over graphite on thick wove paper; sheet: 41.8 x 49.2 cm (16 7/16 x 19 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1946.256 © Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 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. John Marin worked closely with the important dealer and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who championed his work around the time this drawing was made.