Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge, 1930
Object-John Marin, Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge
John Marin developed a distinctively modern watercolor style in the first decades of the twentieth century, producing bold, energetic depictions of New York City’s contemporary architecture. All the elements in Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge seem to vibrate with nervous energy, as if to convey the frenzy of the metropolis. At the center of the composition are the recognizable Gothic-style arches and granite piers of the span, while straight and zigzagging lines suggestive of parallel cables, iron railings, or river waves are scattered throughout. Nearly abstract, this work belongs to a period in Marin’s career when he developed a new sense of geometric structure by using fragmentation to create formal arrangements of line, plane, color, and shape. His rapid, explosive process seemingly confirmed the limits of representation and validated the contemporary artistic movements that influenced him.
Learn more about this watercolor on the Terra Foundation website.
Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge, 1930
Early Abstract and Modernist Painting

Telegraph Poles with Buildings, 1917

Construction, 1915

Peinture, 1917–18

Painting No. 50, 1914–15

Nature Symbolized #3: Steeple and Trees, 1911–12

Sails, 1911–12

Welcome to Our City, 1921

Boy with Cow, 1921

Super Table, 1925

Purple and Green Leaves, 1927

Boat Going through Inlet, c. 1929

The Green Chair, 1928

Politics, 1931

Brooklyn Bridge, on the Bridge, 1930

Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline, 1934

Red Amaryllis, 1937

Room Space, 1937–38

Adolescence, 1947

Highway, 1953

Topcat Boy, 1970

Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948

Passing Show, 1951

Kalounna in Frogtown, 1986