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New Jersey-born John Marin had been summering in Maine for about a decade when he finally began to gain acceptance by neighbors. “They are beginning to take me up into their bosoms here Down East—,” he wrote in a 1924 letter of the folks he met up with while staying in Stonington. “They no longer class me in with the rusticators.”
When Marin and his family finally settled way Down East, at Cape Split in Addison in 1933, the prolific artist made a similar peace with his new neighbors, finding friendship and mutual respect. “He worked hard and they worked hard,” daughter-in-law Norma Marin theorizes. Still, she was told, “for a long time, most people were unaware of his stature.” The truth finally came out in February 1948, when a poll of museum curators and painters conducted by Look magazine named John Marin “America’s No. 1 Artist.”
Addison didn’t have too much more time to enjoy its famous resident; John Marin would die five years later, in 1953, not quite reaching his 83rd birthday. But he left a legacy that included thousands of paintings, drawings, and etchings to his only heir and namesake, John Marin Jr. While the younger Marin had devoted himself to his father’s care for the last several years, he now was responsible for managing the productive artist’s large estate—ensuring that the works were properly preserved, catalogued, and appraised, and deciding whether they were to be stored, exhibited, sold, or given to a worthy institution. Fortunately, John Marin Jr. would soon meet a woman who would join him in enthusiastically and ably managing this behemoth.
John Jr. worked with the renowned Downtown Gallery in New York City in deciding which of his father’s works should be shown, and where, seeking to place the work in the best light while responding to the demands of museum directors, scholars, and collectors. It was at the Downtown Gallery, one day in 1955, that John Jr. fell under the spell of a visitor, a young woman named Norma Boom, who had stopped in to view a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition. The spell, apparently, was mutual: “So, I was looking at John and also at the O’Keeffes on the wall, and I didn’t know exactly where to put my interest,” she once told an interviewer.
Norma fell in love with John, and also with the art world. It wasn’t long before she was helping her husband steward the Marin estate. “I jumped in with both feet,” she recalls. They moved to Maine, raised a daughter, and dug in to life as legacy-keepers.
The Marins were well aware of the key role art galleries may play in the life of a young artist; the elder John Marin’s own career may never have blossomed had it not been for the encouragement and personal support of gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz (see extended sidebar, left).
It was not strange, then, for the Marins to open their own gallery in 1977, at their remote home on Cape Split. (It was so remote, in fact, that clients sometimes arrived by sailboat.) In addition to exhibiting the work of John Marin, Cape Split Place, as it was called, also showed many eminent contemporary Maine masters, among them, Lois Dodd, William Kienbusch, Reuben Tam, Berenice Abbott, and Neil Welliver.
“The gallery was a wonderful thing for me,” Norma Marin remembers. “I got to know people that way.” Over the next several years, it became a meeting place for artists and collectors, until the couple had to close it in 1986. John’s health was in decline, and the gallery had become too much to handle. John Jr. died in 1988, leaving his wife to oversee his father’s estate.
Now in her late 70s, Norma Boom Marin continues to tirelessly promote the life and work of John Marin. Over the years, Marin has also established herself as an important art collector in her own right. She is especially passionate about women artists. “I remember when art created by women wasn’t taken very seriously,” she says, “as in mid-20th-century New York, the art capital of America.”
She is also passionate about Maine. Treasures from the John Marin estate given to Maine institutions have been numerous over the years, starting with John Jr.’s gift of a watercolor to the University of Maine Museum of Art (UMMA) in 1954. The gift brought great pleasure to art professor Vincent Hartgen, who was a fervent admirer of Marin’s work and the founding force behind UMMA’s now-significant art collection.
Of Maine beneficiaries, the Colby College Museum of Art has benefited most from the Marins’ largesse, with two full galleries devoted to its John Marin Collection, a body of works ranking next to the National Gallery of Art’s collection in variety of media and size. The University of Maine at Machias Art Gallery was also given a small collection including three Marin oil paintings, a watercolor, and two drawings, along with works by American artists Lyonel Feininger, Oscar Bluemner, Willam Zorach, and others, which formed the nucleus for a permanent collection.
In the years since John Jr. died, Norma Marin’s generosity has continued and expanded. In the past 20 years, Marin has donated additional works by other artists to the University of Maine at Machias Art Gallery, including the William Zorach sculpture that marks the gallery’s outside entrance, along with the landscaping that surrounds it. Recently she, along with her daughter, Lisa Marin, and photographer Joan Meyers, gave two John Marin etchings to the Portland Museum of Art. “We gave them in memory of Donelson Hoopes of Steuben, who concluded his distinguished career as curator of the museum,” Marin notes. The gift was made in conjunction with the Maine Print Project, a statewide celebration of printmaking.
Lest such giving be taken for granted, it’s important to remember that many of these works of art could be easily sold, often for large sums, to art collectors, foundations, or major museums with substantial acquisition budgets. Indeed, the Terra Foundation for American Art recently purchased the 1934 John Marin oil painting Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline (pictured on pages 26 and 27) for more than $1.2 million.
When donating works of art, Norma Marin considers the institution’s holdings. “It’s important that the work fit in with the rest of the museum’s collection,” she notes, “either adding to its strength in a certain area or filling in a gap.” Museum directors, including Hugh Gourley, who directed the Colby Museum for many years, and Wally Mason at UMMA, she says, have served as trusted guides in some of her gift decisions.
Not all of Marin’s gifts are works by her late father-in-law. “One of our greatest treasures are Maine artists,” she states. With her help, UMMA has acquired select works by contemporary artists, including Bernard Langlais, Susan Shatter, and Joan Meyers, all of whom have connections to Maine. Not all of Marin’s gifts are in museums: She donated several pieces, including a woodcut by Machias printmaker Gillyin Gatto, to the Harrington Family Health Center. “If you’re waiting to see the doctor and you can be distracted in a wonderful way, that’s nice,” she says.
Nor are her gifts limited to art. Marin has made significant contributions to community projects, including the renovation of the Congregational Church in Machias, which John Marin painted in 1945, and the Performing Arts Center at the University of Maine at Machias. She has been a strong supporter of Maine Speakout, a statewide project dedicated to creating “a society that is inclusive and respectful of people of differing sexual orientations.”
Norma Marin is entrusted with another historic treasure: the house at Cape Split. She envisions the historic property as a future destination for people interested in the life and art of her famous father-in-law and other artists associated with Alfred Stieglitz. “We have practically a 180-degree view of the sea from this little point of land,” Marin notes. “It’s a great contemplative place.”
But John Marin is front and center of Norma Marin’s priorities. “It is important to ensure that his artistic achievements are known to future generations,” she says. “It has been the work of a lifetime.”
When Marin and his family finally settled way Down East, at Cape Split in Addison in 1933, the prolific artist made a similar peace with his new neighbors, finding friendship and mutual respect. “He worked hard and they worked hard,” daughter-in-law Norma Marin theorizes. Still, she was told, “for a long time, most people were unaware of his stature.” The truth finally came out in February 1948, when a poll of museum curators and painters conducted by Look magazine named John Marin “America’s No. 1 Artist.”
Addison didn’t have too much more time to enjoy its famous resident; John Marin would die five years later, in 1953, not quite reaching his 83rd birthday
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John Jr. worked with the renowned Downtown Gallery in New York City in deciding which of his father’s works should be shown, and where, seeking to place the work in the best light while responding to the demands of museum directors, scholars, and collectors. It was at the Downtown Gallery, one day in 1955, that John Jr. fell under the spell of a visitor, a young woman named Norma Boom, who had stopped in to view a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition. The spell, apparently, was mutual: “So, I was looking at John and also at the O’Keeffes on the wall, and I didn’t know exactly where to put my interest,” she once told an interviewer.
Norma fell in love with John, and also with the art world. It wasn’t long before she was helping her husband steward the Marin estate. “I jumped in with both feet,” she recalls. They moved to Maine, raised a daughter, and dug in to life as legacy-keepers.
The Marins were well aware of the key role art galleries may play in the life of a young artist; the elder John Marin’s own career may never have blossomed had it not been for the encouragement and personal support of gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz (see extended sidebar, left).
It was not strange, then, for the Marins to open their own gallery in 1977, at their remote home on Cape Split. (It was so remote, in fact, that clients sometimes arrived by sailboat.) In addition to exhibiting the work of John Marin, Cape Split Place, as it was called, also showed many eminent contemporary Maine masters, among them, Lois Dodd, William Kienbusch, Reuben Tam, Berenice Abbott, and Neil Welliver.
“The gallery was a wonderful thing for me,” Norma Marin remembers. “I got to know people that way.” Over the next several years, it became a meeting place for artists and collectors, until the couple had to close it in 1986. John’s health was in decline, and the gallery had become too much to handle. John Jr. died in 1988, leaving his wife to oversee his father’s estate.
Now in her late 70s, Norma Boom Marin continues to tirelessly promote the life and work of John Marin. Over the years, Marin has also established herself as an important art collector in her own right. She is especially passionate about women artists. “I remember when art created by women wasn’t taken very seriously,” she says, “as in mid-20th-century New York, the art capital of America.”
She is also passionate about Maine. Treasures from the John Marin estate given to Maine institutions have been numerous over the years, starting with John Jr.’s gift of a watercolor to the University of Maine Museum of Art (UMMA) in 1954. The gift brought great pleasure to art professor Vincent Hartgen, who was a fervent admirer of Marin’s work and the founding force behind UMMA’s now-significant art collection.
Of Maine beneficiaries, the Colby College Museum of Art has benefited most from the Marins’ largesse, with two full galleries devoted to its John Marin Collection, a body of works ranking next to the National Gallery of Art’s collection in variety of media and size. The University of Maine at Machias Art Gallery was also given a small collection including three Marin oil paintings, a watercolor, and two drawings, along with works by American artists Lyonel Feininger, Oscar Bluemner, Willam Zorach, and others, which formed the nucleus for a permanent collection.
In the years since John Jr. died, Norma Marin’s generosity has continued and expanded. In the past 20 years, Marin has donated additional works by other artists to the University of Maine at Machias Art Gallery, including the William Zorach sculpture that marks the gallery’s outside entrance, along with the landscaping that surrounds it. Recently she, along with her daughter, Lisa Marin, and photographer Joan Meyers, gave two John Marin etchings to the Portland Museum of Art. “We gave them in memory of Donelson Hoopes of Steuben, who concluded his distinguished career as curator of the museum,” Marin notes. The gift was made in conjunction with the Maine Print Project, a statewide celebration of printmaking.
Lest such giving be taken for granted, it’s important to remember that many of these works of art could be easily sold, often for large sums, to art collectors, foundations, or major museums with substantial acquisition budgets. Indeed, the Terra Foundation for American Art recently purchased the 1934 John Marin oil painting Sailboat, Brooklyn Bridge, New York Skyline (pictured on pages 26 and 27) for more than $1.2 million.
When donating works of art, Norma Marin considers the institution’s holdings. “It’s important that the work fit in with the rest of the museum’s collection,” she notes, “either adding to its strength in a certain area or filling in a gap.” Museum directors, including Hugh Gourley, who directed the Colby Museum for many years, and Wally Mason at UMMA, she says, have served as trusted guides in some of her gift decisions.
Not all of Marin’s gifts are works by her late father-in-law. “One of our greatest treasures are Maine artists,” she states. With her help, UMMA has acquired select works by contemporary artists, including Bernard Langlais, Susan Shatter, and Joan Meyers, all of whom have connections to Maine. Not all of Marin’s gifts are in museums: She donated several pieces, including a woodcut by Machias printmaker Gillyin Gatto, to the Harrington Family Health Center. “If you’re waiting to see the doctor and you can be distracted in a wonderful way, that’s nice,” she says.
Nor are her gifts limited to art. Marin has made significant contributions to community projects, including the renovation of the Congregational Church in Machias, which John Marin painted in 1945, and the Performing Arts Center at the University of Maine at Machias. She has been a strong supporter of Maine Speakout, a statewide project dedicated to creating “a society that is inclusive and respectful of people of differing sexual orientations.”
Norma Marin is entrusted with another historic treasure: the house at Cape Split. She envisions the historic property as a future destination for people interested in the life and art of her famous father-in-law and other artists associated with Alfred Stieglitz. “We have practically a 180-degree view of the sea from this little point of land,” Marin notes. “It’s a great contemplative place.”
But John Marin is front and center of Norma Marin’s priorities. “It is important to ensure that his artistic achievements are known to future generations,” she says. “It has been the work of a lifetime.”
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