Tree Forms, Maine 1915

John Marin made this watercolour, ‘Tree Forms, Maine’ at an unspecified date. The earthy palette, dominated by greens and reds, gives a tangible sense of the materiality of the scene, of foliage and soil. Marin was really into watercolour, and here, he lets the medium do its thing. Notice the drips and runs, the translucent washes, the way the white of the paper shines through; these become as important as the subject matter itself. The gestures are quick, un laboured, direct. Marin isn’t trying to represent the Maine landscape so much as suggest its energy, its vibrancy. Look at the lower centre: the mark making here is so immediate, so fresh. The long, sweeping strokes of the branches and the looser areas of the ground. I think that this is a reminder that art is always a conversation, not just with nature, but with other artists, past and present. Like Marsden Hartley, Marin was part of the circle of artists associated with Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, 291. So this piece is also a distillation of their shared ideas, exploring the possibilities of abstraction and the representation of the American landscape.