Weehawken, N.J. c. 1917

John Marin made this pencil sketch, “Weehawken, N.J.”, at some point in his career. The image shows an abstracted scene of the New Jersey landscape, but it also gives us a sense of Marin's engagement with early 20th-century modernism. Marin’s image, though a seemingly simple sketch, sits in the crosscurrents of debates about American identity and artistic expression. Made in a period where American artists were trying to forge a unique identity separate from European traditions, Marin and his contemporaries had to decide whether to adopt European modernist styles or create something entirely new. We can see Marin toying with cubist fragmentation while still trying to capture the spirit of a specific place: Weehawken, New Jersey. Understanding Marin's influences and choices requires us to delve into the art criticism of the period, exhibition records, and artists' manifestos. By examining these resources, we gain insights into the complex negotiations that shaped American art institutions and artistic identity in the early 20th century.