Wind, Maine

Artist/Maker John Marin (American, 1870 - 1953)

Datec. 1917 (dated 1916)

MediumWatercolor and graphite on paper

DimensionsSheet: 16 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (41.3 × 49.5 cm) Frame: 22 7/8 × 28 7/8 × 2 in. (58.1 × 73.3 × 5.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Fred L. Palmer, Class of 1923

Object number1962.4

Not on view

DescriptionJohn Marin is recognized as an important American modernist for his accomplishments in both painting and printmaking. Before spending time in Europe from 1905 to 1909—as was considered necessary to the education of any American artist at the time—he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and at the Art Students’ League in New York City. Marin first visited the wilds of Maine in 1914—“one fierce, relentless, cruel, beautiful, fascinating, hellish, and all the other ish’es place”—and returned almost annually until his death. There, like Winslow Homer before him, he was able to adopt Maine’s forests, mountains, and coasts as subjects for his expressive watercolors, which he had been creating since he was eighteen years old. In Wind, Maine, the artist conveyed whitecaps atop the crests of waves on a gusty day by leaving areas of the paper on which he was painting exposed. Marin once advised that, when painting a body of water, one should “make the hand move the way the water moves,” as evidenced by the fluid strokes seen here. Fred L. Palmer, Class of 1923, gave Wind, Maine to Hamilton College in 1962, soon after the founding of the Edward W. Root Art Center. Palmer was one of its main proponents and organizers and did much to further the arts on campus. Marin was represented at the end of his life by Edith Gregor Halpert, owner of the Downtown Gallery in New York City, whose collection was the subject of an exhibition at the Root in 1960. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017)

Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 63, illus,);

2012
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Case Histories: The Hidden Meaning of Objects," October 6, 2012 - June 8, 2014 (no cat.);

2007
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Highlights from the Permanent Collection," February 19 - April 15, 2007 (no cat.);

2006
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 16 - April 6, 2006 (no cat.);

2005
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Hamilton Collects, A Century of Curiosities: The Story of the Hamilton College Collection," September 29 - December 30, 2005 (unnumbered cat., illus., cover, 4);

1993
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "American Seascapes from the Hamilton College Collection," June 3 - September 5, 1993;

1992
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Highlights from the Hamilton College Collection," June 5 - September 6, 1992 (cat no. 87);

1983
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Selections from the Hamilton College Collection," June 18 - August 14, 1983, extended to September 15, 1983;

1975
Rome, NY (Rome Community Art Center). September 14 - November 9, 1975;

1971-72
Schenectady, NY (Schenectady Museum). December 15, 1971 - January 15, 1972;

1962
Washington, DC (Corcoran Gallery of Art), "John Marin in Retrospect," March 2 - April 15 (cat. no. 45); traveled to: Manchester, NH (Currier Gallery of Art), May 9 - June 24;

Berlin, Germany (America House). "John Marin," September 15 - October 13, 1962 (cat. no. 32); traveled to: Hamburg, Germany, October 26 - November 21, 1962;

1959-60
(American Federation of Arts, World House Galleries). "Seventeen American Collectors," October 1959 - May 1960;

1959
(American Federation of Arts, World House Galleries). "Trustee's Choice," September 15 - October 3, 1959;

New York, NY (The Downtown Gallery). "John Marin Before 1920," February 2-28, 1959 (cat no. 28).

Provenance 1962: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Fred L. Palmer;
? - 1962: Fred L. Palmer.
sometime between 1929 and 1942: with The American Place (Alfred Stieglitz)
?: Alfred Stieglitz, The Downtown Gallery.

Markings Stamp: "Collection / A S [Alfred Stieglitz]" on backing.

Labels: "Wind - Maine 1916 / by / John Marin / An American Place / 1710 - 500 Madison Ave. / New York, - N. Y." on backing [torn]; "John Marin Retrospective" exhibition label on backing.

Published References Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 156;

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HAMILTON COLLEGE COLLECTION (exh. cat., Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, June 5 - September 6, 1992, cat. no. 87);

Sheldon Reich, John Marin: A Stylistic Analysis and Catalogue Raisonne (Tucson: THe university of Arizona Press, 1970) (part II, p. 446, no. 16.146, illustrated);

New York Sunday Times (February 8, 1959), illustrated;

American Art Research Council, Partially compiled catalogue raisonne of Marin's work (no. 51-x).

Signature Signed and dated "Marin 16" in ink and watercolor at lower right.