Marcus A. Waterman was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1834. He became a painter of good reputation but it is thought he had no formal education. However, he may have received informal instruction in California where he associated with Thomas Hill, a painter of the Yosemite Valley, and well-known landscapist William Morris Hunt.

Although he graduated from Brown University in 1857, he apparently did not study art. He painted in New York City, after graduation, until 1874, moving then to Boston. He was a great traveler, seeming to prefer exotic, desolate locale; he painted everything from Vermont wilderness to Cape Cod shore, Europe to North Africa.

Of him it was said he had two remarkable gifts. He had a photographic memory, and was never influenced by the passing artistic fashions of his day. He steadfastly pursued his own vision of reality as well as scenes that existed only in his imagination, such as his Algerian-inspired "Arabian Nights" series. Interested in the effects of light and color, he made many studies, as well as lonely, moodily expressive, finished landscapes and paintings of the figure.

Waterman moved to Italy in 1900, dying in Moderno in 1914.

Marcus Waterman was a member of the American Watercolor Society, Artists Fund Society and National Academy of Design.
Marcus Waterman (1834-1914) Providence, Rhode Island was one of the 1855 group of early Providence painters. He was educated at Brown University and was known for large, distinctive and imaginative oils.

He worked in New York (1857-1870) and later in the Boston area. His exhibits included the National Academy of Design and the Boston Art Club as well as others. Well traveled, he often painted in Algeria. His works are widely held, including Rhode Island School of Design.
Source:
Tradewinds Fine Art