Marsden Hartley and the Rise of American Abstraction

Introduction: Hartley's Place in American Art

Marsden Hartley epitomizes the transition in American art toward abstraction. Hartley was integral to fomenting this shift at a time when American art tended to lag behind its European avant-garde counterparts. He spent more than a quarter century in Europe — before and during World War One, in both Paris and Berlin — where he absorbed emerging techniques ranging from cubism and abstract expressionism to fauvism. When Hartley returned to the United States, however, he retreated from the avant-garde styles and became known more as the "rooted-in-Maine American artist" (Slenske, 2014). His achievements lie as much in his versatility as in his encouragement of abstraction and experimentalism in American art.

Early Career and European Influences

Hartley was born in Maine and exhibited a predilection for visual art at a young age. He received formal training and got his start exhibiting at Alfred Stieglitz's Gallery 291 in New York. Stieglitz gave Hartley an exclusive exhibition and later supported his journey to Europe. Although Hartley never attained commercial success during his lifetime, he had a profound impact on his contemporaries and was well regarded among his peers.

In Paris, Hartley found himself among art's inner circles. He met Pablo Picasso and "frequented the now infamous Saturday evening art salons of Gertrude and Leo Stein" (Peltakian, n.d.). Afterwards in Berlin, Hartley was introduced to members of Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider group), including Wassily Kandinsky, from whom he undoubtedly derived much of his expressionistic leanings (Peltakian, n.d.). One of his more Kandinsky-esque paintings is Musical Theme (Oriental Symphony).

The German Officer Series and World War One

Hartley's lover, German officer Karl von Freyburg, was killed in World War One while Hartley remained in Berlin. Von Freyburg's death precipitated many of Hartley's most celebrated and renowned works, including Portrait of a German Officer and Berlin Abstraction. These two paintings showcase the artist's embrace of abstraction fused with a deconstructionist understanding of cubism. Iron Cross is another work from the same series; all three employ primary colors, bold geometric shapes, and near-total abstraction.

The symbols embedded in these paintings refer directly to von Freyburg, making the works function as both eulogy and homage. For example, the number four refers to von Freyburg's military regiment, the number 24 to his age at death, and the iron cross itself to the decoration he was awarded posthumously (Slenske, 2014). Other paintings completed during this period, such as Indian Composition, exposed Hartley's longing for home and his lingering fascination with American Indian motifs (The Phillips Collection, 2016).

Indian Composition potentially signals his imminent return home in 1915, shortly after he completed the series. When he did return, Stieglitz gave Hartley his own show once again. This time, however, the German iconography alienated critics, who read the symbols not as emblems of his lost love but as signs of anti-American, pro-German sentiment. A disheartened Hartley embarked on a journey of self-discovery, traveling widely and rarely remaining long in one place.