John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist visual artist. He is known for his abstract landscape paintings and watercolors.
Born~Died Dec 23, 1870 ~ Oct 2, 1953Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:25 PM
John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist visual artist. He is known for his abstract landscape paintings and watercolors.
In 1905, Marin went to Europe, initially traveling to Paris.5 He exhibited his work in the Salon, where he also got his first exposure to modern art.4 He traveled through Europe for six years, and painted in the Netherlands, Belgium, , and . In Europe, he mastered a type of watercolor where he achieved an abstract ambience, almost a pure abstraction with color that ranges from transparency to translucency, accompanied by strong opacities, and linear elements, always with a sense of freedom, which became one of his trademarks.
This page is based on “John Marin” from English Wikipedia, (r1364535269) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
In 1909, Marin held his first one-man exhibition at Alfred Stieglitz's 291 gallery in New York City. He had been introduced to Stieglitz by the photographer Edward Steichen, whom Marin in turn had met through the painter Arthur B. Carles. Marin's association with Stieglitz would last nearly forty years, and Stieglitz's philosophical and financial support would prove essential.6 From 1909 until his death in 1946, Stieglitz showed Marin's work almost every year in one of his galleries.7 Marin also participated in the landmark 1913 Armory Show.4
Marin spent his first summer in Maine in 1914 and almost immediately the rocky coast there became one of his favorite subjects. Over the rest of his life, Marin became intimately familiar with the many moods of the sea and sky in Maine.7 "In painting water make the hand move the way the water moves," Marin wrote in a 1933 letter to an admirer of his technique.8
Marin had a retrospective show in 1936 at the Museum of Modern Art. Late in life Marin achieved tremendous prestige as an American painter, an elder statesman of American art. In 1950, he was honored by the University of Maine and Yale University with honorary degrees of Doctor of Fine Arts.
Marin was among the first American artists to make abstract paintings.10 Marin is often credited with influencing the Abstract Expressionists. His treatment of paint—handling oils almost like watercolors—his forays into abstraction, and his use of evocative stretches of bare canvas caught the eye of younger painters.11 His experience with architecture might have contributed to the role played by architectural themes in his paintings and watercolors.
Fine, Ruth (2003), The John Marin Collection at the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville: Colby College Museum of Art, ISBN 0-9728484-0-1.
Gray, Cleve, ed. (1970), John Marin by John Marin, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Harnsberger, R. Scott (2002), Four Artists of the Stieglitz Circle: A Sourcebook on Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Max Weber, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-31488-8.
Kertess, Klaus (1987), Marin in Oil, Southampton, NY: Parrish Art Museum.
Marin, John (1949), Selected Writings, New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy.
Museum of Modern Art (1936), John Marin: Watercolors, Oil Paintings, Etchings, New York: Arno Press.
Tedeschi, Martha; Dahm, Kristi; Fine, Ruth (2011), John Marin's Watercolors: A Medium for Modernism, Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, ISBN 978-0-300-16637-8.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts (1969), Reich, Sheldon (ed.), John Marin Drawings, 1886–1951, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Wright, Frederick Stallknecht (1955), John Marin Memorial Exhibition, Los Angeles: UCLA Art Galleries.
Young, John Sacret (2006), John Marin: The Edge of Abstraction, New York: Meredith Ward Fine Art.
John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist visual artist. He is known for his abstract landscape paintings and watercolors.
In 1905, Marin went to Europe, initially traveling to Paris.5 He exhibited his work in the Salon, where he also got his first exposure to modern art.4 He traveled through Europe for six years, and painted in the , , , and . In Europe, he mastered a type of watercolor where he achieved an abstract ambience, almost a pure abstraction with color that ranges from transparency to translucency, accompanied by strong opacities, and linear elements, always with a sense of freedom, which became one of his trademarks.
In 1909, Marin held his first one-man exhibition at Alfred Stieglitz's 291 gallery in New York City. He had been introduced to Stieglitz by the photographer Edward Steichen, whom Marin in turn had met through the painter Arthur B. Carles. Marin's association with Stieglitz would last nearly forty years, and Stieglitz's philosophical and financial support would prove essential.6 From 1909 until his death in 1946, Stieglitz showed Marin's work almost every year in one of his galleries.7 Marin also participated in the landmark 1913 Armory Show.4
Marin spent his first summer in Maine in 1914 and almost immediately the rocky coast there became one of his favorite subjects. Over the rest of his life, Marin became intimately familiar with the many moods of the sea and sky in Maine.7 "In painting water make the hand move the way the water moves," Marin wrote in a 1933 letter to an admirer of his technique.8
Marin had a retrospective show in 1936 at the Museum of Modern Art. Late in life Marin achieved tremendous prestige as an American painter, an elder statesman of American art. In 1950, he was honored by the University of Maine and Yale University with honorary degrees of Doctor of Fine Arts.
Marin was among the first American artists to make abstract paintings.10 Marin is often credited with influencing the Abstract Expressionists. His treatment of paint—handling oils almost like watercolors—his forays into abstraction, and his use of evocative stretches of bare canvas caught the eye of younger painters.11 His experience with architecture might have contributed to the role played by architectural themes in his paintings and watercolors.
Fine, Ruth (2003), The John Marin Collection at the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville: Colby College Museum of Art, ISBN 0-9728484-0-1.
Gray, Cleve, ed. (1970), John Marin by John Marin, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Harnsberger, R. Scott (2002), Four Artists of the Stieglitz Circle: A Sourcebook on Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Max Weber, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-31488-8.
Kertess, Klaus (1987), Marin in Oil, Southampton, NY: Parrish Art Museum.
Marin, John (1949), Selected Writings, New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy.
Museum of Modern Art (1936), John Marin: Watercolors, Oil Paintings, Etchings, New York: Arno Press.
Tedeschi, Martha; Dahm, Kristi; Fine, Ruth (2011), John Marin's Watercolors: A Medium for Modernism, Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, ISBN 978-0-300-16637-8.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts (1969), Reich, Sheldon (ed.), John Marin Drawings, 1886–1951, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Wright, Frederick Stallknecht (1955), John Marin Memorial Exhibition, Los Angeles: UCLA Art Galleries.
Young, John Sacret (2006), John Marin: The Edge of Abstraction, New York: Meredith Ward Fine Art.