On Morse Mountain, No. 6, Maine

About the Artwork

One of America's most important watercolor practitioners, John Marin spent every summer in Maine from 1914 through 1928, and the state's coastline became a central focus of his work. By the late 1920s, when this work was made, he was experimenting with bold black elements in his compositions and painted frames or borders. On Morse Mountain, No. 6, Maine shows Marin using dry charcoal to create areas of shocking black over which he layered inky black wash. The technique has the effect of framing the image and leading the eye toward the center. With its strikingly different character from other works made in Maine in 1914 (see 2020.134, 2020.136, 2020.137, 2020.138, 2020.139), the work shows how John Marin repeatedly challenged himself as well as the medium of watercolor with improvisations in color, paint handling, perspective, and movement.

Inscriptions

Recto, lower right: "Marin '28"; Written in pencil on verso: "On Morse Mountain/#6-28"; Written in pencil on verso: "No 5 (scribbled out in pencil)"

Provenance

Estate of the Artist Mr. and Mrs. John C. Marin, Jr., New York, NY Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY May 25, 1994: Sotheby's, New York, NY Spanierman Gallery, New York, NY Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, NY Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH March 2, 2020: the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).

Quick Overview

Artist: John Marin (American, 1870–1953)
Date: 1928
Medium: Watercolor and black crayon and reductive work with the end of paint brush on thick, moderately rough-textured wove paper
Dimensions: Image and Sheet: 42.3 x 56.5 cm (16 5/8 x 22 1/4 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift
Accession no.: 2020.135

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.