Bates Museum of Art Collection - [Harbor Scene Viewed Through Fish Nets]

[Harbor Scene Viewed Through Fish Nets]

ca. 1930s
Marsden Hartley, American, (Lewiston, ME, January 4, 1877 - September 2, 1943, Ellsworth, ME)

Object Type	Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection
Dimensions	6 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. (17.46 x 25.08 cm)
Medium	Black ink with brown ink underdrawing on white paper
Credit Line	Bates College Museum of Art, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Gift of Norma Berger, 1955.1.39
Accession Number	1955.1.39

Notes

In this and the next drawing (1955.1.40) the artist exploits the pen and ink medium—its fluidity, short, staccato dashes, and density of hatching strokes—to its most expressive effect. He intentionally obscures our view of the sailboats and fish shacks behind by means of a swirling veil of fishnets and floats hanging out to dry, using the medium to activate the scene, transforming it from a straightforward harbor motif (as in 1955.1.38) to a dynamic, nearly abstract rendering. The semi-visible "real" compositional elements surrender to the fractured space, while the composition as a whole seems to float, unmoored and surrounded by the dots and dashes and rhythmic lines of the foreground, right side, and sky.

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This object has the following keywords:

Drawing, Hartley, Landscape, Local, Maine, Marsden, Marsden Hartley, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Paper, Works on paper

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Marsden Hartley and Nova Scotia , 10/1/1987 - 11/1/1987

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This object is a member of the following portfolios:

Hartley Artworks

Hartley Entire Collection

Permanent Link: /objects-1/info/139

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[Harbor Scene Viewed Through Fish Nets]