Alfred H. Maurer American, 1868-1932

Maurer’s paint handling and free approach to his subjects forecast the work of a whole generation of Abstract Expressionists, including Hans Hoffman and many of his students, who like Maurer, depicted subjects with complete and total freedom. During Maurer's latter period,  he made regular painting excursions in the Hudson River Valley region of Marlboro, a hamlet in the small town of Marlborough. He rendered many of his paintings from the 1920s in bravura fashion, allowing color and form to dissolve into abstract passages and patterns.

Maurer generally visited Marlboro each year from April or May until November and occasionally made special trips to this region during select winter months. During Maurer’s extended Marlboro stays, which began around 1916 and lasted until the time of his death in 1932, he resided at the Shady Brook farm. While staying at this family-run boarding house, Maurer devoted a great deal of time to painting landscapes.

Maurer exhibited his compositions back in New York city at the Weyhe Gallery, which began representing the artist in 1924. Beginning in 1917, he also displayed them in numerous non-juried exhibitions such as those sponsored by the Society of Independent Artists.