Artwork
Painting No. 48
Painting No. 48 is an oil painting by Marsden Hartley. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Painting No.
About this work
Overview
Painting No. 48 is an early work by American modernist Marsden Hartley, executed in oil on canvas in 1913. The composition reflects the artist’s formative period before his later, more abstract investigations. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, where it is displayed among other early twentieth‑century American paintings.
Technique & Style
Created with oil pigments, the painting demonstrates Hartley’s initial engagement with the medium’s capacity for rich color and texture. While the work predates his later, more expressionist language, it shows a careful handling of form and a restrained palette typical of his pre‑World War I output, hinting at the evolving modernist sensibilities that would later define his career.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1913, the work entered the Brooklyn Museum’s holdings through acquisition in the mid‑twentieth century, though precise details of its purchase are not widely documented. Its presence in the museum’s collection provides insight into Hartley’s early artistic development and offers scholars a reference point for tracing his stylistic trajectory from representational beginnings to later abstraction.
Artist & collection
Artist
Marsden Hartley was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley developed his painting abilities by observing Cubist artists in Paris and Berlin.
