Marin, John (1870–1953)

US painter, one of the leaders of US avant-garde art in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his seascapes and cityscapes, often in watercolour, his angular, brightly coloured style derived from cubism. His Region of Brooklyn Bridge Fantasy 1932 (Whitney Museum, New York) is typical.

Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, he began his career as an architect but later studied painting in Philadelphia and New York. He travelled in Europe, 1905–11, where his early Impressionist style gave way to cubism. He subsequently settled in New Jersey, becoming noted for watercolours inspired by the coast of Maine and the streets of Manhattan.