Marsden Hartley at the Met

From Backwoods Maine to Fifth Avenue

Above: Mt. Katahdin (Maine), Autumn #2 (1939–40). Oil on canvas 30 1⁄4 x 40 1⁄4 in. (76.8 x 102.2 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Edith and Milton Lowenthal Collection, Bequest of Edith Abrahamson Lowenthal, 1991.

BY: Viki Caputo

If you go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you see all of the classics. “Cypresses” by Van Gogh and “The Death of Socrates” by Jacques Louis David. What you might not recognize is the exhibit entitled Marsden Hartley’s Maine.

On January 4th, 1877, American Modernist painter Marsden Hartley was born in Lewiston, Maine. His native state serves as the landscape of the exhibit. Hartley’s paintings clearly show his artistic engagement and connection with his home state of Maine. His works start off vibrant and chromatic, but then his view of Maine becomes dark and dreary. It is shown through Hartley’s work how the state has inspired him through it’s land and inhabitants. That inspiration along with his own personality and culture bring his pieces to life as a significant part of American Modernism.

The exhibit includes select works from other artists who have helped shape Hartley’s vision of American Modernism, such as Paul Cezanne, Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, Winslow Homer and Albert Pinkham Ryder.

His work is relatable, insightful and remarkable. Be sure to indulge yourself in the art and emotion that Marsden Hartley’s Maine will envelop you in. The exhibit is on display until June 18th, 2017.

 

Knotting Rope (1939–40). Oil on board 28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm). Private collection, New York.
Knotting Rope (1939–40). Oil on board 28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm). Private collection, New York.

 

Canuck Yankee Lumberjack at Old Orchard Beach, Maine (1940–41). Oil on Masonite-type hardboard 40 1/8 x 30 in. (101.9 x 76.2 cm) Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution.
Canuck Yankee Lumberjack at Old Orchard Beach, Maine (1940–41). Oil on Masonite-type hardboard 40 1/8 x 30 in. (101.9 x 76.2 cm) Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution.

 

Three Flowers in a Vase (1917). Oil and metal leaf on glass 13 1/8 x 7 5/8 in. (33.3 x 19.4 cm) Private collection.
Three Flowers in a Vase (1917). Oil and metal leaf on glass 13 1/8 x 7 5/8 in. (33.3 x 19.4 cm) Private collection.

 

Smelt Brook Falls (1937). Oil on commercially prepared paperboard (academy board) 28 x 22 7/8 in. (71.1 x 58.1 cm) Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust.
Smelt Brook Falls (1937). Oil on commercially prepared paperboard (academy board) 28 x 22 7/8 in. (71.1 x 58.1 cm) Saint Louis Art Museum, Eliza McMillan Trust.

 

City Point, Vinalhaven (1937–38). Oil on commercially prepared paperboard (academy board) 181/4 x 243/8 in. (46.4 x 61.9 cm). Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation.
City Point, Vinalhaven (1937–38). Oil on commercially prepared paperboard (academy board) 181/4 x 243/8 in. (46.4 x 61.9 cm). Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation.

 

Lobster Fishermen (1940–41). Oil on hardboard (masonite) 29 3/4 x 40 7/8 in. (75.6 x 103.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund.
Lobster Fishermen (1940–41). Oil on hardboard (masonite) 29 3/4 x 40 7/8 in. (75.6 x 103.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund.

 

The Lighthouse (1940–41). Oil on masonite-type hardboard 30 x 40 1/8 in. (76.2 x 101.9 cm). Collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde.
The Lighthouse (1940–41). Oil on masonite-type hardboard 30 x 40 1/8 in. (76.2 x 101.9 cm). Collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde.

 

Log Jam, Penobscot Bay (1940–41). Oil on masonite 30 x 40 7/8 in. (76.2 x 103.8 cm). The Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Robert H. Tannahill.
Log Jam, Penobscot Bay (1940–41). Oil on masonite 30 x 40 7/8 in. (76.2 x 103.8 cm). The Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Robert H. Tannahill.

 

The Wave (1940). Oil on masonite-type hardboard 30 1⁄4 x 40 7/8 in. (76.8 x 103.8 cm). Worcester Art Museum.
The Wave (1940). Oil on masonite-type hardboard 30 1⁄4 x 40 7/8 in. (76.8 x 103.8 cm). Worcester Art Museum.

 

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