John Marin
Biography
John Marin by Alfred Stieglitz.
“I demand of [my paintings] that they are related to experiences ... that they have the music of themselves–so that they do stand of themselves as beautiful-forms-lines and paint on beautiful paper or canvas.”
–John Marin
John Marin is a pioneer in American modernism and abstraction. Marin’s contributions to the canon are becoming more widely recognized amongst an international audience, some 70 years after he became the first American to exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 1950. Marin enjoyed continued critical and commercial success throughout his career which was instigated by his meeting Alfred Stieglitz in 1909; a pivotal moment for the artist as Stieglitz championed Marin’s advancements in abstraction and in watercolor as a medium.
Perhaps most enticing, however, from the perspectives of both visual iconography and emotional response to the artist’s work, are the ‘bursts’ of energy with which Marin paints. When examining an early watercolor from the artist’s first summer in Maine in 1912, or a late oil painted in 1952, the same fervor is experienced, the same restless and relentless energy with which Marin sought to capture the natural world. It is in the translation of this experience from Marin’s eyes to our own, in which the artist’s brilliance and impact is at its best.
Works
-
John MarinThe Brook, Tyrol Series I, 1910 -
John MarinThe Tyrol, 1910
-
John MarinBlack River Valley, New York, 1913
-
John MarinBlack River Valley, Castorland, New York, 1913
-
John MarinAdirondacks II, 1913
-
John MarinCasco Bay, 1914
-
John MarinWest Point, Maine, 1914
-
John MarinRegion (Cocotte) on Bushkill Creek, Pennsylvania, 1916
-
John MarinEcho Lake District, Pennsylvania, 1916
-
John MarinEcho Lake District, Pennsylvania, 1916
-
John MarinTree, Beach and Sea, Small Point, Maine, 1917
-
John MarinThe Berkshires, 1917
-
John MarinBy the Sea, Small Point, Maine, 1917
-
John MarinRowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRegion Rowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRegion Rowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRegion Rowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinRowe, Massachusetts, 1918
-
John MarinHoosic Mountains, 1918
-
John MarinFrom Deer Isle, Maine, 1919
-
John MarinLow Tide, Moosehead Point, Maine, 1919
-
John MarinLittle Fir Tree, Deer Isle, 1921
-
John MarinSailboat, Sea and Sun, 1921
-
John MarinOn Deer Isle, Maine, 1923
-
John MarinHouse, Stonington, Maine, 1924
-
John MarinThe Wharf, 1926
-
John MarinWhite Mountain Country, Autumn No. 44, Franconia Range, The Mountain No. 1, 1927
-
John MarinIsland (Ship's Stern), 1934
-
John MarinSea Fantasy, Maine, 1937
-
John MarinTwo Sloops on a Squally Sea, 1939
-
John MarinBlue Sea and Boat Fantasy, 1941
-
John MarinThe Maple Tree, Addison, Maine, 1944
-
John MarinRegion of Centerville, Maine, 1945
-
John MarinBlue, Red and Ivory, 1945
-
John MarinCenterville, Maine, 1946
-
John MarinAlong Au Sable River No. 2, 1947
-
John MarinSea in Red, Version I, 1948
-
John MarinWeehawken Sequence, by 1916
-
John MarinWeehawken Sequence, by 1916
-
John MarinWeehawken, c. 1912
-
John MarinUntitled (Seascape, Maine), c. 1915
-
John MarinUntitled (Grain Elevator), c. 1915
-
John MarinWeehawken Sequence, c. 1916
-
John MarinWeehawken Sequence (No. 22), c. 1916
-
John MarinWeehawken Sequence, c. 1916
-
John MarinSands Dunes I, Small Point, Maine, c. 1917
-
John MarinLandscape with Mountains and Trees, c. 1917
-
John MarinMaine, Deer Isle, c. 1919
-
John MarinDowntown, New York, c. 1925
Exhibitions
-
John Marin: Communing with the Colossal
October 24 - December 12, 2025Schoelkopf Gallery is pleased to announce a landmark exhibition exploring the immense impact of pioneering American modernist John Marin (1870 – 1953) at the gallery October 24 – December 12,...Read more -
Now Modern Spring 2023
May 5 - July 7, 2023The Spring 2023 edition of Now Modern presents a selection of works by Charles Demuth, Richard Estes, Marsden Hartley, Fitz Henry Lane, Norman Lewis, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Frederick...Read more -
John Marin Watercolors: 1916-1919
March 10 - April 21, 2023Read more -
Now Modern
Fall 2022 November 16 - December 16, 2022Schoelkopf Gallery is pleased to continue its biannual exhibit and accompanying publication Now Modern this Fall and Winter. The publication and exhibition is an extension of the gallery’s mission and...Read more -
Now Modern
May 9 - June 10, 2022Read more -
Marin in the White Mountains
September 13 - October 15, 2021John Marin is a pioneer in American modernism and abstraction. Marin’s contributions are widely recognized amongst an international audience, some 70 years after he became the first American to exhibit...Read more -
Fall Modernism
September 16 - October 16, 2020Menconi + Schoelkopf presents Fall Modernism , an exhibition that showcases prominent works of modernist art. Among the works assembled for this show are three mature painting by Arthur Dove,...Read more -
Marin + The Critics
February 24 - July 31, 2020From February 24th through July 31st, 2020, Menconi + Schoelkopf proudly presents Marin and the Critics, a two-part exhibition on the critical response to one of the foremost figures in American Modernism.Read more
The exhibition Marin and the Critics and accompanying catalogue celebrate our representation of the Estate of John Marin (1870-1953) and the opportunity to enhance and preserve his legacy. Our collaboration with the Estate supports our interests surrounding the evolution of art history which the gallery highlights through programming and publications. Marin is a central figure in the intellectual and artistic development of American art and international modernism shortly after the dawn of the twentieth century. In 1948, Clement Greenberg declared, ". . . if it is not beyond all doubt that he is the best painter alive in America at this moment, he assuredly has to be taken into consideration when we ask who is."
Art Fairs
-
Art Basel | Miami Beach
December 6 - 8, 2024Schoelkopf Gallery presents a dynamic selection of paintings, works on paper, and assemblage by leading American modern, post-war, and contemporary artists including Mary Abbott, Milton...Read more -
Art Basel | Miami Beach
November 29 - December 3, 2022Schoelkopf Gallery is pleased to present a selection of exceptional paintings and works on paper by American modernists including Milton Avery, Patrick Henry Bruce, Arthur...Read more -
Frieze Masters
October 9 - 16, 2020Menconi + Schoelkopf's presentation at Frieze Masters illustrates for you the depth and breadth of the artisitc process in America during the 20th and early...Read more -
ADAA Art Show
February 27 - March 1, 2020Read more -
Art Basel | Miami Beach
December 5 - 8, 2019Read more -
The American Art Fair
November 16 - 19, 2019Read more -
Frieze Masters
October 2 - 6, 2019Read more
Blog
-
Huntington Acquires John Marin “Weehawken”
December 19, 2019The two lively and evocative oil sketches by modernist John Marin (1870-1953) that were acquired are from a group of roughly 100 that the artist...Read more -
The Weehawken Sequence
and early forms of abstraction April 21, 2020While working in the town to the west of the Hudson River, Marin produced a sequence of oils, his abstracting tendencies at a fever pitch....Read more -
The Painter of Maine
on Marin's love of location February 28, 2020In 1914, John Marin visited Maine for the first time. He found the terrain vibrant and inspiring. “One fierce, relentless, cruel, beautiful, hellish and all...Read more -
Marin in New Mexico
a new frontier February 29, 2020Marin spent only two seasons in Taos, New Mexico, staying on land owned by Mabel Dodge Luhan in 1929 and 1930, but the time he...Read more -
Marin and the Critics
John Marin's Legacy March 21, 2020Marin’s life and work embraced energy and conflict but rarely struggle. His letters are filled with affirming awe for the crash of waves against rock...Read more
News
-
Apollo | American modernism is still serving up surprises
May 1, 2025Andrew Schoelkopf Featured in Apollo Magazine article titled, American modernism is still serving up surprises In 1905, Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, pioneers of American...Read more -
The Art Newspaper | Art Fairs
The ADAA Art Show February 2020'“People’s experience of fairs now is so different to when this fair started some 30 years ago,” says Andrew Schoelkopf, the president of the ADAA...Read more
