id: 90395 accession number: 2020.134 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.134 updated: 2023-02-06 12:22:09.817000 The White Moon, Sailboat, c. 1922. John Marin (American, 1870–1953). Watercolor with scrubbing and blotting over charcoal on thick, rough-textured wove paper; image and sheet: 39.1 x 47.5 cm (15 3/8 x 18 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.134 © Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York title: The White Moon, Sailboat title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1922 creation date earliest: 1917 creation date latest: 1927 current location: creditline: Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift copyright: © Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York --- culture: America, 20th century technique: Watercolor with scrubbing and blotting over charcoal on thick, rough-textured wove paper department: Drawings collection: DR - American 20th Century type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: Reich 114, illus. --- CREATORS * John Marin (American, 1870–1953) - artist --- measurements: Image and Sheet: 39.1 x 47.5 cm (15 3/8 x 18 11/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection opening date: 2022-09-11T04:00:00 Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE John Marin (the artist) [1872-1953] date: footnotes: citations: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, New York, NY date: footnotes: citations: Mr. and Mrs. John C. Marin, Jr. date: footnotes: citations: Private Collection, New York, NY date: footnotes: citations: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: March 2, 2020 footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: John Marin had a passion for boats and adopted the two-masted sailboat as a kind of personal talisman. digital description: 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. The White Moon, Sailboat exemplifies his experimental approach and deft handling of the medium. Here the sky and ocean share the same purplish-blue wash, while a jagged coastal rock ledge cuts through the sky. Marin achieved the sharp edge by combining a black chalk outline with his astounding control of the watercolor wash, creating the effect of a shadow along the edge. This hard element is countered by the washy swirls that make up the rock face. The moon and the sailboat each reveal where Marin reserved the white of the paper by controlling the wash, or by carefully removing it from the face of the paper. wall description: Marin had a passion for boats and adopted the two-masted sailboat as a kind of personal symbol. Made in Maine, this watercolor exemplifies his experimental approach and deft handling of the medium. Here the sky and ocean share similar purplish-blue washes, while a jagged coastal rock ledge cuts through the sky. Marin achieved the sharp edge by combining a black chalk outline with watercolor wash, which, by his astounding control, creates the effect of a shadow along the edge. The moon and the sailboat each reveal areas where Marin reserved the white of the paper, or carefully lifted the wash from the face of the paper with a knife. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES