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Buildings

A work made of watercolor with blotting, over graphite, on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, laid down on ivory wove card.
© 2018 Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of watercolor with blotting, over graphite, on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, laid down on ivory wove card.

Date:

c. 1910

Artist:

John Marin
American, 1870-1953

About this artwork

Three watercolor sketches—Skyline with Boats in Foreground; New York Skyline, Boats in Foreground; and this sheet, Buildings—adopt views of the densely clustered buildings of New York seen from the Hudson River and demonstrate the diversity of Marin’s watercolor techniques at this time. Their differences point to his growing desire to experiment with his methodology as a watercolor painter. This sketch, possibly made from the Brooklyn Bridge, takes a view of the skyline similar to the other two, yet Marin transformed the small sheet into a kind of floating fantasy. He combined the fluid, improvisational technique of the Weehawken scenes with warm-cool color contrasts, a palette that he soon developed into the iridescent effects seen in his later watercolors.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

John Marin

Title

Buildings

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 1909–1911

Medium

Watercolor with blotting, over graphite, on lightweight, slightly textured, off-white wove paper, laid down on ivory wove card

Dimensions

18.7 × 23.1 cm (7 3/8 × 9 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection

Reference Number

1956.380

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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