Lot 39
  • 39

John Marin 1870-1953

Estimate
125,000 - 175,000 USD
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Description

  • John Marin
  • Island (Ship Stern)
  • signed Marin and dated '34, l.r., and inscribed No. 1 Maine series 1934 Island (Ship Stern) Marin on reverse
  • watercolor on paper
  • 16 3/4 by 22 in.
  • (42.5 by 55.9 cm)

Provenance

Alfred Stieglitz, New York
John Marin, Jr. (artist's son)
Acquired from the above, 1959

Exhibited

New York, An American Place, John Marin, October-December, 1935, no. 1
New York, The Downtown Gallery, n.d.
New York, Museum of Modern Art, John Marin--A Retrospective Exhibition, October, 1936, no. 153
Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art; Manchester,
New Hampshire, Currier Gallery of Art, John Marin in Retrospect, March-June 1962, no. 73
Berlin, Germany, America House; Hamburg, Germany, America House, John Marin Exhibition, September-November, 1962, no. 53
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art , Philadelphia Collects Twentieth Century, October-November 1963, p.23, illustrated
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Private Eye: A Salute to Philadelphia Collectors, 1979
Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University, Princeton Alumni Collections, Works on Paper, April-June 1981, p. 189

Literature

Art News, November 2, 1935, vol. 34, p. 3
Sheldon Reich, John Marin: A Stylistic Analysis and Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. II, Tucson, Arizona, 1970, p. 661, no. 34.11, illustrated

Condition

Very good condition; unframed: attached to the mat in several places, pinholes at upper left and lower right corners and at center of top edge, otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

In a 1959 letter to J. Welles Henderson, John Marin, Jr. wrote: "'Shipstern' is probably one of the most unusual islands for its size, anywhere. The actual land not rocks might make up two to two and a half acres. About as rugged a two and a half acres as you would want to find. In the Summer it is full of live and dead trees engulfed with fern almost up to your waist. Navigating on this piece of land is extremely difficult. The shore of 'Shipstern' is almost, or lets just say damnably severe. About three-fourths of it being a wall of cliff; there being only one small spot, a matter of a few feet in which to land a craft; then just on a calm day. The water is usually anything but calm around the island. Painting a picture in a small open boat is quite difficult. With the result, I believe you possess the only painting by Marin or anybody else of 'Shipstern'. Maybe my father felt the streaks in the sky in your picture sort of form a halo over the island. For to John Marin it was a very precious piece of land."