1913

Woolworth Building (The Dance)

American, 1870 - 1953

After learning to make etchings in Paris, Marin returned to America and moved to New York City. There, inspired by the early twentieth-century fervor for modern architecture, Marin saw the city as a locus of great forces where buildings were asserting themselves, striving to be seen. The artist wrote, “While these powers are at work pushing, pulling, sideways, downwards, upwards, I can hear the sound of their strife and there is great music being played.” In his effort to graphically express his experience in prints, Marin repeatedly turned to the Woolworth Building—the tallest building in the world when completed in 1913—often starting a new rendition on a blank plate.