Movement, Fantasy Series 1943

John Marin made this drawing, "Movement, Fantasy Series," with delicate strokes of graphite and wash on paper. I can imagine Marin, standing before the sheet, coaxing figures into being with the lightest touch. Look how the figures emerge from the ground with such ease. The seated figure has a stillness, a quietness, in contrast to the wild abandon of the figure with outstretched arms. Is he conducting an orchestra? Worshipping the sun? Marin leaves this open to our interpretation, which is generous. I admire the suggestive quality of his line work. Marin was part of a generation of artists—think Arthur Dove and Marsden Hartley—who wanted to bring a distinctly American sensibility to modernism. And although this drawing is figurative, it has the dynamism and energy you see in his abstract landscapes. These guys were all in conversation with each other. It's amazing to see how they pushed painting in new directions.