AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PAINTERSHomer Martin
TWO
Of all our great artists the most unsuccessful financially was Homer Dodge Martin. His work was not popular; he never won any prizes; and indeed he was long forced to depend for a living on the assistance of his wife. Like many other early American artists, he was self-taught. His father, a carpenter in Albany, New York, was not easily persuaded to let the boy follow up a natural talent for painting. Martin first tried carpentering, shopkeeping, and architecture. In each case his desire to draw pictures was too strong for him,—boards, paper, blank walls, were decorated with landscapes,—until his employers found it necessary to discharge the young artist. At last a sculptor of the time pleaded for him, and Homer was permitted to paint.
Martin insisted on doing everything in his own way, and he did not get far at first. His admirers can find hardly more than an occasional hint in these crude early works of the great skill that this artist afterward acquired. Nevertheless, the wealthier people of Albany, who were proud of their artist, bought a number of Martin’s canvases.
It was not until he moved to New York in 1862 that this queer genius had a really hard struggle to live. His habits were irregular, he dressed badly, and generally made a poor impression. The great Whistler said, introducing him, “Gentlemen, this is Homer Martin. He doesn’t look as if he were; but he is!” Revolutionary ideas and a keen, cutting humor made him as many enemies as friends.
Strangely enough, he chose quiet, calm landscapes to paint. He was attracted to the Catskills, Adirondacks, and White Mountains, and in Europe preferred tranquil scenes along the upper Thames and in Normandy.
Homer Martin seldom painted direct from nature; but would sketch in his notebook and jot down color memoranda. Less surprising, therefore, than it would seem at first is the painting of two famous pictures in 1895, when he was all but blind. “The Adirondacks” and the “View on the Seine” rank with his best work. Two years later he died.
Martin was not appreciated during his lifetime. The few pictures that he did manage to sell were purchased by his friends. Today few of his important pictures can be bought at any price.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATIONILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 26, SERIAL No. 26
AN OLD CLEARING By A. H. WYANTMetropolitan Museum of Art
AN OLD CLEARING By A. H. WYANT
Metropolitan Museum of Art