Marsden Hartley (1877-1943) was an American painter and poet in the early 20th century. Hartley was born in Lewiston, Maine, USA. He began his art training at the Cleveland Art Institute after moving to Cleveland, Ohio in 1892. At the age of 22, he moved to New York City where he attended the National Academy of Design and studied painting with William Merritt Chase. He was in the cultural vanguard, in the same milieu as Gertrude Stein, Hart Crane, Charles Demuth, Georgia O'Keefe, Fernand Leger, Ezra Pound, among many others. He was also a fine poet, essayist and writer. His written work continues to resonate with us today.