"Kinsman Falls," Marsden Hartley

Marsden Hartley (United States, 1877–1943), Kinsman Falls, 1930, oil on canvas, 27 1/8 x 19 inches. Museum purchase with lead gift from an anonymous donor and support from the Friends of the Collection, the Bernstein Acquisition Fund, the Peggy and Harold Osher Acquisition Fund, Museum Board Acquisition Funds, Curatorial Acquisiton Fund, Deaccession Funds, and gifts in memory of Dorothy Jensen and in memory of Henry McCorkle, 2000.32. Image courtesy of Luc Demers

Find me at ferry beach state park!

Maine-born artist Marsden Hartley visited Franconia Notch in New Hampshire in 1930 hoping to “get into some really wild places.” The painter, newly returned to New England after a prolonged stay in Europe, gravitated toward the region’s rugged and secluded landscapes. Hartley’s blocky rock formations and logs rendered in a dark palette anchor the composition, while his visible brushwork and heavy paint application heighten the sense of quickly moving water rushing between boulders.