Alfred H. Maurer

Alfred Henry Maurer (1868–1932) was an American painter whose paint handling and free approach to his subjects forecast the work of a whole generation of Abstract Expressionists, including Hans Hofmann and many of his students, who, like Maurer, depicted subjects with complete and total freedom. During his 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 these extended stays, which began around 1916 and lasted until 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.

He exhibited his compositions in New York City at the Weyhe Gallery, which began representing him in 1924. Beginning in 1917, he also displayed his work in numerous non-juried exhibitions, including those sponsored by the Society of Independent Artists.