At the Battery, New York City

"In the thirties Marin created some exceedingly dynamic renditions of New York. The group, for example, in the Metropolitan Museum...or At the Battery are cases in point. These drawings have become even more complicated in their angularity than the drawings of the twenties. In particular, Marin now loves to emphasize the step-like structure of the skyscrapers, elaborating the theme by echoing the steps in the space around the buildings (he evolved this idea into a number of important oil paintings during this decade)." (S. Reich, John Marin Drawings, 1886-1951, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1969, p. 16)