Marlin

Joan Mitchell, Marlin, 1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1968.52.16
Copied Joan Mitchell, Marlin, 1960, oil on canvas, 95 x 71 in. (241.3 x 180.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1968.52.16

Artwork Details

Title
Marlin
Artist
Date
1960
Location
Dimensions
95 x 71 in. (241.3 x 180.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1968.52.16
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.52.16

Artwork Description

Paintings are static objects, yet they contain dynamism and movement. Imagine the speed and force with which Joan Mitchell applied paint to this canvas and the rhythm of her physical actions.

The brushstrokes in Marlin may seem explosive, even violent, evoking, as the painting's title suggests, the movements of a powerful game fish. Inspired by nature, people, and places, Mitchell sought to capture in her work the feeling or experience of a thing rather than its appearance.