Hudson D. and Ione Walker

he: 1907 - 1976; she: 1915 - 1987

Explore Selected Works

Amethyst-purple mountains and clouds against a slightly lighter, lavender-purple sky loom over a strip of land painted as bands of brick red and royal blue in this abstracted, horizontal landscape painting. One tall peak with a flattened top rises in front of a few more lower, rounded peaks to our right. Round clouds, like cotton balls, in the same amethyst-purple of the mountains, float against the lighter purple sky. The sky, clouds, and mountains are painted with areas of mottled purple over a red underlayer, all outlined in lapis blue. The horizon line created by the strip of deep red land comes about halfway up the composition. There is a pair of green trees with triangular canopies at the water’s edge near the center of the red band. A few touches of forest-green nearby suggest more trees or bushes. The red band is streaked vertically with visible brushstrokes in flame, ruby, and burgundy red. Along the bottom edge of the painting, the land curves toward us near the lower left corner, around a field painted with horizontal streaks of cobalt and navy blue with a few thin, white lines to suggest ripples. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner: “M.H. 42.”
Marsden Hartley, Mount Katahdin, Maine, 1942, oil on hardboard, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Byers, 1970.27.1

Mount Katahdin, Maine

Marsden Hartley · 1942 · oil on hardboard ·  Accession ID  1970.27.1

This vertical canvas is filled with geometric shapes that create patterns in red, blue, yellow, green, black, and white in this abstract painting. The paint is applied with visible brushstrokes, giving some areas a mottled look. Some of the patterns seem to revolve around a red circle near the top center. The circle has a black cross like a plus sign on a white field at its center, and a white band around its perimeter is outlined in black. A blue and white checkered band curves up over the red circle to our left while a banner-like form of alternating, wavy yellow and black lines cascade down to the right of the circle. Horizontal bands of red, white, and black extend across the canvas behind the circle. Below the circle, a blue panel with a curly, cursive red “E” is flanked to the left with a red and white checkerboard, then alternating, almost vertical lines of blue and white. The red number “4” appears on a yellow field at the bottom center of the work, and is flanked by rectangular forms and alternating bands of color to either side.
Marsden Hartley, Berlin Abstraction, 1914/1915, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund), 2014.79.21

Berlin Abstraction

Marsden Hartley · 1914/1915 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.79.21

Alfred H. Maurer, Two Heads, c. 1929, gouache and graphite on wove paper, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase), 2015.19.1572

Two Heads

Alfred H. Maurer · c. 1929 · gouache and graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  2015.19.1572