Lobster Fishermen, Marsden Hartley

Lobster fishermen artist: marsden hartley (american, lewiston, maine 1877–1943 ellsworth, maine) date: 1940–41 medium: oil on hardboard (masonite) dimensions: 29 3/4 x 40 7/8in. (75. 6 x 103. 8cm) classification: paintings credit line: arthur hoppock hearn fund, 1942 in the mid-1930s, after many restless years of personal and artistic exploration, hartley began to focus his art on his home state of maine. Aware of maine’s reputation as a natural oasis from city life and responsive to the popularity of folk art—including john kane’s work, hartley adopted a self-consciously "primitive" style. In 1940 he moved to the small coastal town of corea, where lobstering remained a viable, but difficult way of life. Here, he painted men gathered on a wharf with their lobster traps, a scene that conveys the profound integration of man and nature. Object Type: painting. Place of creation: United States of America. Dimensions: height: 75.6 cm (29.7 in) ; width: 103.8 cm (40.8 in). Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Lobster Fishermen - Marsden Hartley