Early American Modernism

Landscape, New Mexico, 1922-23
Marsden Hartley (1877-1943)
Oil on canvas, 19 3/4 x 28 7/8 inches
Special Purchase Fund, 1958
DAM 1958-15

Marsden Hartley simplified the elements of the southwestern landscape, creating a rather abstract picture that communicates his feeling for the place, as well as the character of the terrain. Hartley, like Arthur Dove and John Marin, embraced European modernism under the influence of Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer, writer, and gallery owner who promoted the work of European and American artists. All three of these artists adapted modernist techniques to convey a sense of place, a characteristic they share with Georgia O’Keeffe, the most famous of Stieglitz’s circle of artists.