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Marsden Hartley's Maine
Marsden Hartley (1877–1943) was a well-traveled American modernist painter, poet, and essayist, but it is his life-long artistic engagement with his home state of Maine that defines his career. Maine served as a creative springboard, a locus of memory and longing, a refuge, and a means of communion with other artists, such as Winslow Homer, who painted there. This is the first book to look at the artist’s complex relationship with the Pine Tree State, providing a nuanced understanding of Hartley’s impressive range in over 80 works, from the early Post-Impressionist interpretations of seasonal change to the late depictions of Mount Katahdin, the most dramatic and enduring series in his oeuvre.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition The Met Breuer
(03/14/17–06/18/17) Colby College Museum, Waterville, Maine
(07/18/17–11/12/17)
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition The Met Breuer
(03/14/17–06/18/17) Colby College Museum, Waterville, Maine
(07/18/17–11/12/17)
- GenresArtNonfiction
184 pages, Hardcover
Published March 21, 2017
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 8, 2018
What an enjoyable book! I had never given Maine much thought even though I travel a lot. I must visit now!
March 7, 2022
'Marsden Hartley's Maine' by Donna Cassidy, Randall Griffey and Elizabeth Finch is an exhibit gallery focusing on the work centered in Maine by Marsden Hartley.
Marsden Hartley was a modernist painter and poet who came from Maine and eventually tried to become famous for that, but fame seemed elusive during his life. His painting has heavy lines and vibrant colors and the paint is layered on the canvas. Among the multiple essays includes one about his poetry as well as one investigating his painting style.
I confess to knowing little about Marsden Hartley before reading this book. His painting style is not one I find particularly interesting, but I have a new appreciation for his work and life after reading this book.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Yale University Press, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
Marsden Hartley was a modernist painter and poet who came from Maine and eventually tried to become famous for that, but fame seemed elusive during his life. His painting has heavy lines and vibrant colors and the paint is layered on the canvas. Among the multiple essays includes one about his poetry as well as one investigating his painting style.
I confess to knowing little about Marsden Hartley before reading this book. His painting style is not one I find particularly interesting, but I have a new appreciation for his work and life after reading this book.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Yale University Press, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
September 12, 2017
Absolutely gorgeous paintings and well told story of one of my favorite artists.
December 20, 2017
I missed this exhibit at the Met Breuer; as always, I'm sure a lot is lost from actual work to reproduction. But the book is beautifully illustrated, and gives a detailed timeline of Hartley and his relationship to Maine. He lived many different places, but Maine always remained in his mind and influenced his imagery. And he always returned to the place of his birth.
His landscapes were largely imagined, even when based on a particular place. The brushstrokes could be thick or thin, blurred or edged in black--he did not limit his expression. But he was always aware of symbolic associations.
I didn't know that Albert Pinkham Ryder was such an influential mentor--and Hartley did a wonderful portrait of Ryder, even though he is not primarily a figure painter. Of course Homer was an influence, although Hartley abstracted his oceans to a greater extent. Hartley's shells reminded me of Georgia O'Keeffe--Alfred Steiglitz was his dealer, so he was certainly familiar with her work. The ideas of Cezanne can also be seen in his later paintings.
To my eye there is always a certain awkwardness present in Harley's work. I think this gives it depth and dimension that a more polished approach would lack. These are not captured moments in time, by dynamic images that reinforce the changing and evolving of both vision and memory.
Hartley was also a published poet, although the text doesn't quote much from his written work. He admired Walt Whitman, and his friends included many poets: Hart Crane, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams. The authors note that although his writing and art clearly influenced each other, they consider the art to be far superior.
There is a lot of written information here, about Hartley and the evolution of his work. I skimmed the text, reading more carefully those parts that interested me. All of the illustrations interested me--when I look at art books, it's usually the images that capture my attention and shine.
His landscapes were largely imagined, even when based on a particular place. The brushstrokes could be thick or thin, blurred or edged in black--he did not limit his expression. But he was always aware of symbolic associations.
I didn't know that Albert Pinkham Ryder was such an influential mentor--and Hartley did a wonderful portrait of Ryder, even though he is not primarily a figure painter. Of course Homer was an influence, although Hartley abstracted his oceans to a greater extent. Hartley's shells reminded me of Georgia O'Keeffe--Alfred Steiglitz was his dealer, so he was certainly familiar with her work. The ideas of Cezanne can also be seen in his later paintings.
To my eye there is always a certain awkwardness present in Harley's work. I think this gives it depth and dimension that a more polished approach would lack. These are not captured moments in time, by dynamic images that reinforce the changing and evolving of both vision and memory.
Hartley was also a published poet, although the text doesn't quote much from his written work. He admired Walt Whitman, and his friends included many poets: Hart Crane, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams. The authors note that although his writing and art clearly influenced each other, they consider the art to be far superior.
There is a lot of written information here, about Hartley and the evolution of his work. I skimmed the text, reading more carefully those parts that interested me. All of the illustrations interested me--when I look at art books, it's usually the images that capture my attention and shine.
July 19, 2017
Hartley's style is really something special, and truly needs to be viewed in-person if at all possible. I was lucky enough to do this recently during a trip to the Colby Art Museum; seeing Marsden Hartley's impasto oil paintings of scenic Maine landscapes was easily a highlight of my trip. No, I haven't read through this collection word-for-word, but I certainly will be flipping through this on several occasions to revisit Hartley's whimsical world of mountains, lakes, and skies.
April 27, 2017
Marsden Hartley's Maine by Donna Cassidy is a beautifully illustrated overview of Hartley's life and work with an eye toward his connection to Maine.
While this volume certainly emphasizes the visual art he produced I was particularly interested in Richard Deming's essay on Hartley's poetry. The work as a whole does a wonderful job of giving a well-rounded picture of Hartley but it is the attention given to his literary contributions which really made him come to life for me. I think Deming's suggestion that "some conversation about place were occurring between the paintings and the poems" offers yet another way into both Hartley himself and his works, both visual and literary.
I would recommend this to collectors of books on art and artists. This will also be of interest to those interested in the interplay between place and artistic expression.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
While this volume certainly emphasizes the visual art he produced I was particularly interested in Richard Deming's essay on Hartley's poetry. The work as a whole does a wonderful job of giving a well-rounded picture of Hartley but it is the attention given to his literary contributions which really made him come to life for me. I think Deming's suggestion that "some conversation about place were occurring between the paintings and the poems" offers yet another way into both Hartley himself and his works, both visual and literary.
I would recommend this to collectors of books on art and artists. This will also be of interest to those interested in the interplay between place and artistic expression.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
April 30, 2017
This exploration of Marsden Hartley’s work and in particular his relationship with Maine is everything you could want from an art book. Lavishly illustrated with high-quality pictures and clear and accessible explanatory text, this collaboration between New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Colby College Museum of Art in Maine is a volume to savour and opens up his artistic achievement to a wider audience.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews