John Marin aimed to capture the light and movement in nature, casting them in a cohesive structure defined by fresh, sparkling colors. His glimpses of the Maine coast and Manhattan skyscrapers seem to burst with restless energy. A painting of characteristic vitality, Grey Ledges rocks with the nervous force of a choppy ocean. Marin appears to have painted with a frenzy that matched the tumult he saw before him. Primarily a watercolorist until his later years, Marin painted with a spontaneity and feeling for texture well suited to that medium. In the end, oil paint was no less an expressive vehicle for his empathic union with nature.