Study for "Lobster Fishermen"

Marsden Hartley

1940 · Pastel on paperboard · Modern and Contemporary Art

Hartley created this study of lobster fishermen with pastel. The choice of medium and vivid, almost floral palette contrast in sentiment with the hardworking reality of the denim-clad laborers. The composition is defined by pronounced velvety black outlines, which depict the shadows and forms. The slight shifting of the line enlivens the surface of the work, lending an almost vibrating effect to both the ethereal elements of the clouds and sea and also the more solid objects such as the fishermen, houses, and traps.

Artist

Marsden Hartley

Date

1940

Medium

Pastel on paperboard

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1956