Description
Here Marin used a rich purple wash for the ornate spire of Trinity Church. He flattened and compressed the spaces between the structure and the tall buildings visible behind it, including the domed New York World Building on Park Row. He exploited the rough surface of the paper with his soft pencil, keeping his touch light, and after painting with watercolor, he added further marks in graphite for detail. The broken pencil lines and the rounded shapes created by Marin’s brushwork convey kinetic energy and vibrancy.
Provenance
Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946), New York [stamped, lower right, in purple: "COLLECTION/ AS"]; Stieglitz Estate (Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), executor); given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1956.
Accession Number
2924
Medium
Watercolor and graphite on lightweight, moderately textured, off-white wove paper
Dimensions
24.5 × 20.1 cm (9 11/16 × 7 15/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Credit Line
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
John Marin's Saint Paul's, with Other Buildings (1911) is a watercolor and graphite drawing on lightweight off-white wove paper. This work depicts St. Paul's Chapel, one of the oldest surviving churches in New York, surrounded by the taller buildings of the modern city. The contrast between the historic church and the modern skyscrapers that surround it was a subject that fascinated many artists, and Marin's treatment captures the drama of this architectural juxtaposition. The watercolor technique is bold and expressive, the church and its surrounding buildings rendered with Marin's characteristic freedom. The graphite adds linear definition. St. Paul's Chapel, built in 1766, had survived the fire of 1776 and stood as a reminder of New York's colonial past amid the skyscrapers of the modern city. Marin's watercolor captures this sense of historical depth, the old church standing firm amid the towers of the new.
Cultural Impact
Marin's watercolors of historic New York buildings document the city's architectural heritage, capturing the juxtaposition of old and new that defined the changing urban landscape.
Why It Matters
This watercolor of St. Paul's Chapel captures the contrast between the historic church and the modern skyscrapers that surround it, Marin's expressive handling conveying the drama of New York's architectural diversity.
