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Building

A work made of watercolor with re-wetting and blotting on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, pieced.
© 2018 Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of watercolor with re-wetting and blotting on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, pieced.

Date:

1910

Artist:

John Marin
American, 1870-1953

About this artwork

Here Marin created a compelling celebration of monumental architecture in a small format. He stationed himself in Central Park, facing the Plaza Hotel, and selected a true watercolor paper that would hold up to heavy applications of water and pigment. He did not rely on an initial pencil drawing, but instead worked quickly and loosely, tamping his brush repeatedly to capture the effect created by the hotel’s hundreds of shimmering windows. Leaving many areas of the paper white to show through his varied marks, Marin approximated the way the eye might move rapidly across such a scene. Later he attached an extra strip of paper along the bottom edge to denote activity on the street, making the Plaza seem more distant and emphasizing its height.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

John Marin

Title

Building

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1910

Medium

Watercolor with re-wetting and blotting on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, pieced

Inscriptions

Signed lower left, in graphite: “John Marin”

Dimensions

16.1 × 12.6 cm (6 3/8 × 5 in.)

Credit Line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection

Reference Number

1956.367

Copyright

© 2018 Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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