Deer Isle, Maine 1921

John Marin made this watercolor painting, *Deer Isle, Maine,* in 1921. Marin was part of a circle of early twentieth-century American artists who sought to create a distinctly modern art, often looking to Europe for inspiration. But Marin, like many artists of his generation, was also concerned with defining what a specifically ‘American’ modernism might look like. This landscape shows us how. Marin combines a European avant-garde interest in abstraction with a recognizably American subject, the landscape of coastal Maine. We can see how the dabs of color and energetic lines create a sense of movement. Marin was engaging with ideas popular at the time about the energetic, modern character of American life. Yet in his choice of subject, he insists on a connection to the natural world. To understand Marin's project better, we might consult exhibition catalogs and critical reviews from the period, considering how his work was received by contemporary audiences and institutions. This helps us understand the complex negotiation between international trends and national identity in American art.