Gulls of Leland

Alten left the state of Michigan less frequently as travelling became more difficult with age. In 1936 he visited Leland, a small fishing and resort community on the northwest side of the Leelanau peninsula. Here, he painted scenes at Fishtown and the piers leading from the Leland River (Carp River) into Lake Michigan.

Leland was settled by Europeans as early as the 1830s on the site of an important Odawa (Ottawa) Native American village. During the early part of the 20th century, commercial fishermen motorized and enclosed their open boats, and wealthy individuals from throughout the Midwest began building summer cottages. Access by Lake Michigan passenger steamers and rail lines, along with local passenger service to the Manitou Islands, lead to further development of the resort community.