Born in Maine, later career calls himself the painter of Maine
Movement: American Modernist
Trained: Art Students League NY, Cleveland Instit. of Art, National Academy of Design
Influences: German Expressionism and Cubism
Early work (1908-1912) - 1st solo show at 291 in ’09, & again in ’12
1912 goes to Europe (where he befriends Gertrude Stein, see One Portrait of One Woman))
1913-15 Berlin Years: War Motifs Series (also Amerika Series w/American Indian motifs)
His earliest Berlin paintings included in the Armory Show 1913.
Movement: American Modernist
Trained: Art Students League NY, Cleveland Instit. of Art, National Academy of Design
Influences: German Expressionism and Cubism
Early work (1908-1912) - 1st solo show at 291 in ’09, & again in ’12
1912 goes to Europe (where he befriends Gertrude Stein, see One Portrait of One Woman))
1913-15 Berlin Years: War Motifs Series (also Amerika Series w/American Indian motifs)
His earliest Berlin paintings included in the Armory Show 1913.
In 1916 Hartley moved back to the US. However, he moved back to Europe and stayed there from 1921 to 1930. Once he returned to the United States, he lived in various places such as New Mexico, New York, and California. In 1937, Hartley decided to return to Maine. He remained in Maine and became part of the Regionalism movement. He’s well know for his Dogtown (Main) & Taos landscapes. Hartley was also known for his story Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy.
Later Works: Down East Young Blades, 1940.
Patrons: Duncan Phillips (Phillips Collection); Hudson Walker.
Re: Hartley’s War Motif series
Later Works: Down East Young Blades, 1940.
Patrons: Duncan Phillips (Phillips Collection); Hudson Walker.
Re: Hartley’s War Motif series
Portrait of a German Officer, 1914.
- War Motifs Series: 12 paintings begun in 1914 after the start of the war and the subsequent death of Karl von Freyburg [cavalry officer killed early in the war]
- fascination with the military pageantry in Berlin
- demonstrates assimilation of Cubism (collage-like juxtaposition of visual fragments and the heiratic structuring of geometric shapes) and German Expressionism (coarse brushwork and vivid, dramatic color)
- condensed mass of images (badges, flags, medals) evoke a collective psychological and physical portrait of the officer.
- K.v.F.: initials of Karl von Freyburg
- E represents Hartley (first name was Edward, but he changed it to Marsden, his stepmother’s maiden name)
- 4 was his regiment number and 24 his age.
- white and blue checkered Bavarian flag
- black & white chessboard
- iron cross: KvF got one; also ref to it’s larger meaning - awarded to over 4M German soldiers, frequently posthumously.
- red cross ref: International Red Cross, which became a commonplace symbol in Berlin after the war broke out.
- In the context of conflict, the recognizable military regalia & crosses depicted become a reminder of wartime trauma & loss. The varying combinations of black, white, red, yellow, green & blue serve to simultaneously as unit color, state colors, and national colors.
- more than a symbolic portrait of Hartley’s lost lover. It negotiates a complicated network of urban modernity and military spectacle - a central presence in imperial Berlin at the cusp of WWI. Berlin was a modern, industrialized metroplis teeming with people, cars, flashing lights, billboards, etc. Under Kaiser Willhelm II, large formal parades of martial guard units in full regalia were frequently staged to demonstrate Germany’s military strength.
See Spotlight essay re: another war motifs portrait of KvF
Hartley war motifs & links to exhibition reviews