This delightful oil painting of a mountainscape in Estes Park, Colorado, was a source of inspiration for many paintings and drawings by American artist Keith Morrow Martin (b. 1911 d. 1983). Martin has been classified as an abstract artist, Magic Realist, and Surrealist although he occasionally painted or drew portraits. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Martin attended the Art Institute of Chicago then traveled and studied through pre-war Europe, settling for long periods of time in Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna. During WWII he was stationed in Iceland. After the war he returned to Paris and was one of the first American artists to exhibit in that recovering city. He traveled back to New York in the late 40s, then moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he continued to reside for 35 years.  Using a broad palette of colors, Martin presents a kaleidoscopic view of a scene from the park. Martin’s works are  in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. 

Signed “Keith Martin” in lower right corner dated 1953 on verso

Medium: oil on mounted linen

Size of support: 11 1/2” x 14 1/4” Size of outside frame: 17 7/8” x 20 7/8” 

Year of creation: 1953

Condition: The painting surface has been cleaned and a fresh coat of dammar varnish has been applied. There are no losses nor areas of inpaint. It is housed in a custom linen liner and contemporary bull nose frame, all in excellent condition.