Martin, Homer Dodge

▪ American painter

born Oct. 28, 1836, Albany, N.Y., U.S.

died Feb. 12, 1897, St. Paul, Minn.

      landscape painter who was one of the first to introduce Impressionism into American painting.

      Martin studied briefly with James Hart, and his early work is akin to that of the Hudson River school. In 1862 he moved to New York City, where he was able to study the landscapes of John Frederick Kensett. His early works show an interest in carefully observed detail, as well as the larger forms of landscape such as the shape of land masses and trees silhouetted against the sky.

      Martin made two trips to Europe. The first, in 1876, was inspired by the works of Camille Corot and the Barbizon school, which were just beginning to appear in the United States. On the second, in 1882, he lived primarily in Normandy and Brittany, saw the work of the Impressionists, but did practically no painting himself. His best work, such as “The Harp of the Winds” (1895; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City), in which he borrowed the broken colour of the Impressionists but not their high-keyed palette, was done after his return to the United States. Martin's painting is generally characterized by its spacious design, brilliant colour, and an underlying gravity or gentle melancholy.

      He became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1874 and in 1877 was one of the founders of the Society of American Artists.

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