Motive No. 1 in Fog

Joseph Margulies

"Motive" was the artist's misspelling or artistic interpretation of "Motif", referring to "Motif No. I", a famous fishing hut located on Bearskin Neck in the Bradley Wharf of Rockport, Massachusetts. Often noted as the most often-painted building in America, it became a focal point for artists of the Rockport art colony in the late 19th century and its popularity never waned.

The unusual name was given to the subject in slightly disdainful jest by artist and art teacher Lester Hornby, who, tired of his students' inexhaustible interest in the ramshackle fishing structure, exclaimed as he saw yet another sketch of it brought in for critique, "What - motif number one again?" (Riel, N. July 18, 2016. "How Motif No. 1 Got Its Name" [article]. Rockportnews.com).

Joseph Margulies, known for his images of fishing life on the East Coast, depicts the hut and pier in the fog of an early morning, reflected in a calm sea whose surface hosts small fishing boats and a lone seagull. Fishermen dot the pier, waiting for the morning catch. The stillness and peace are palpable, you can almost hear a foghorn in the distance. The artist adds hints of color, applied by hand, that draws the viewer's eye along the pier to the building.