Landscape no. 26

Marsden Hartley's Landscape no. 26 (1909-10) is an oil on cardboard painting from early in the artist's career. This early landscape shows Hartley working in a more naturalistic mode than his later Expressionist works, the landscape rendered with careful observation and a relatively restrained palette. The cardboard support was a common material for artists working on a budget and gives the painting a more intimate, sketch-like quality. This early work is important for understanding Hartley's development, showing the foundation of observational landscape painting upon which his later, more expressive style was built.

Hartley's early landscapes document his artistic formation, showing the careful observation that underlay his later Expressionist experiments.

This early landscape shows Hartley working in a naturalistic mode, the careful observation revealing the foundation of his later, more expressive style.