The Sea at Villerville, Homer Dodge Martin

Best known for his Adirondack wilderness scenes of Lake George and Lake Ontario in upstate New York, Homer Dodge Martin also spent four years in France, particularly working along the Normandy coast. Painted in 1885, a year before his return to the United States, this sparse seascape with its muddy palette of browns, whites, and blues renders the textures and light of sea and sand.
During a 1913 trip to New York, Sallie Casey Thayer purchased this painting at Macbeth Gallery along with works by John Francis Murphy, Robert Henri, Winslow Homer, and John La Farge. While her painting collection is small in comparison to the many other types of artwork she acquired, she also sought to develop a core collection of works by contemporary American artists. Many of these artists demonstrate connections with artistic practices and training in the United States and Europe, particularly France, which was a popular destination for American painters and collectors.