Old House, Waterfront, Stonington, Maine 1923

John Marin made this watercolor, "Old House, Waterfront, Stonington, Maine" in 1923. Marin was part of a group of early 20th-century American artists who responded to the rise of industrial society, and the urbanization of the American landscape, by painting scenes of untouched wilderness. Marin here depicts an unadorned house in a rural Maine town. In this period, a widespread anxiety emerged in urban centers about what was perceived to be the loss of an authentic American character. Intellectuals and artists looked to rural landscapes as a counterpoint to the alienating conditions of modernity. Marin's choice to paint in a loose, expressive style, rather than in a more academic, realist mode, suggests the influence of European avant-garde painting, and the artist's desire to experiment with different forms of representing the landscape. Historians of American art have explored the relationship between the art market, the rise of museums, and the formation of a distinctly "American" artistic identity during this period. These are just some of the avenues of inquiry that can help us better understand works of art in their social and institutional contexts.