Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–5 public

Madawaska—Acadian Light-Heavy

A work made of oil on hardboard.

Image actions

  • A work made of oil on hardboard.

Date:

1940

Artist:

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877–1943)

About this artwork

“I have for the first time since 1922 a real live model a magnificent young feller… . His body is so fine and dear I could work almost without end from him.” So wrote Marsden Hartley about Lionel Daigle, a French-Canadian boxer from the town of Madawaska, Maine, who modeled for a series of paintings by the artist. A Maine native himself, Hartley drew upon local types at this time to create a mythic view of the state’s inhabitants as rugged individualists. Hartley delighted in painting the man’s body, which allowed him to express his own sexuality. He emphasized Daigle’s strong physique, exaggerating his anatomy and originally painting him nude (subsequently adding the brief covering). Ironically, critics in the 1940s applauded the work as a display of heteronormative masculinity.

Status

On View, Gallery 265

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Marsden Hartley

Title

Madawaska—Acadian Light-Heavy

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.

1940

Medium

Oil on hardboard

Inscriptions

Signed, inscribed, and dated verso: Madawaska--Acadian / Light-Heavy / Marsden Hartley / 1940.

Dimensions

101.6 × 76.2 cm (40 × 30 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of A. James Speyer

Reference Number

1987.249

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share