On View
Not on viewObject number1989/90.44
Sea Piece
Artist
John Marin
(American, 1870-1953)
Date1951
Mediumwatercolor and pencil on paper
Dimensionsimage: 12 1/4 × 17 3/8 in. (31.1 × 44.1 cm)
frame: 22 1/2 × 27 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (57.2 × 69.9 × 3.2 cm)
frame: 22 1/2 × 27 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (57.2 × 69.9 × 3.2 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Genevieve U. Gilmore
Exhibition History"Twentieth Century American Art: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Photography," KIA (Oct. 1 - Dec. 31, 1961).
"Paintings By American Masters: Fifth Anniversary Exhibition," KIA (Sept. 14 - Oct. 19, 1966).
"A Gift to Kalamazoo: Selections from the Genevieve U. Gilmore Collection," KIA (Apr. 2 - May 5, 1991).
"Modern Masters from the KIA Permanent Collection," Saginaw Art Museum (Nov. 12 - Dec. 5, 1993), Rankin Center Fine Arts Gallery, Ferris State (Jan. - Feb. 1994).
"70 Years, 70 Works from the KIA Permanent Collection," KIA (Nov. 19, 1994 - Feb. 10, 1995).
"Masterworks from the KIA Permanent Collection," Dennos Museum Center (Mar. 1997 - Feb. 1998); Midland Center for the Arts (Apr. - July, 1998).
"Master Drawings from the Permanent Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Nov. 18, 2006 - Feb. 4, 2007).
"Familiar Surroundings," KIA Long Gallery (Dec. 18, 2010 - Apr. 10, 2011).
"Lasting Legacy: A Collection for Kalamazoo," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Sep. 6, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2015).Label TextTo John Marin, seeing was a “repetition of glimpses” and each painting an opportunity to capture in a single, striking image the “eye of many lookings.” Sea Piece conveys the essence of rough seas, wind, and boats with bold lines, fluid washes, and scratched patches of paint. The sense of swift movement is contained by counterbalancing diagonals and transverse lines. Nature is expressed as a force that bristles and hums with energy.
Although he lived in Cliffside, New Jersey, for much of his life, Marin spent many summers drawing and painting the rugged coast of Maine. Sea Piece exemplifies the artist's mature, expressive, rapidly executed style as well as his love of nature.
