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Lower Manhattan from the River, No. 1

John Marin American
1921
Not on view
Marin, who briefly studied architecture, painted this watercolor a year after moving to Cliffside, New Jersey. Viewed from across the river, the skyline of Lower Manhattan rises triumphantly. Marin’s penchant for vivid colors and use of heavy charcoal strokes to accentuate the waves and articulate the gridded high-rises create a composition pulsing with the life of the city. One critic described Marin as an urban visionary, "Other artists have seen the surfaces of New York; but Marin sees New York itself, rearing monstrous pointed heads into a smiling sky . . . the mechanical, swirling, vibrant life of the city."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lower Manhattan from the River, No. 1
  • Artist: John Marin (American, Rutherford, New Jersey 1870–1953 Cape Split, Maine)
  • Date: 1921
  • Medium: Watercolor, charcoal, and graphite on paper
  • Dimensions: 21 7/8 × 26 1/2 in. (55.6 × 67.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
  • Object Number: 49.70.122
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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