Mark Tobey

(American, 1890–1976)

Mark Tobey was an American artist known for his densely calligraphic paintings. Working in a method more contemplative than emotional, he once remarked, “I believe that painting should come through the avenues of meditation rather than the canals of action.” Born on December 11, 1890 in Centerville, WI, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1906 to 1908. Working as a fashion illustrator, first in Chicago then in New York, he mostly made portraits before becoming involved in the mystic faith of Bahai in 1918. Devoting himself to an abstraction which sought to unify space rather than separate objects, he visited a monastery in Kyoto and studied Zen painting, haiku poetry, and calligraphy. Influenced by this experience, the artist developed his signature style of "white writing,” in where white or light-colored calligraphic symbols were overlaid on an abstract field, as seen in his hallmark work Threading Light (1942). During the 1940s, a younger generation of artists including Jackson Pollock, began utilizing the overall painting handling approach pioneered by Tobey. In 1951, the artist had a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the show traveled throughout the country and established Tobey as an integral figure in the art world. He died on April 24, 1976 in Basel, Switzerland. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

Mark Tobey Artworks

Mark Tobey (3,624 results)

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 13, 2012

Auction Closed

Composition, 1966

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1966

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

The Harvest's Gleaming, 1975

Mark Tobey

The Harvest's Gleaming, 1975

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

The Grand Parade (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Mark Tobey

The Grand Parade (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Awakening Night (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Mark Tobey

Awakening Night (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Winter Leaves (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Mark Tobey

Winter Leaves (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

To Life (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Mark Tobey

To Life (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Flame of Colours (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Mark Tobey

Flame of Colours (Aus: Homage to Tobey), 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Vibrating Surface, 1974

Mark Tobey

Vibrating Surface, 1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Summer joy, 1972

Mark Tobey

Summer joy, 1972

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

They've Come Back II, 1971–1974

Mark Tobey

They've Come Back II, 1971–1974

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Divertimento, 1971

Mark Tobey

Divertimento, 1971

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

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Devoted (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Mark Tobey

Devoted (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

After Harvest (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Mark Tobey

After Harvest (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

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Evocation (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Mark Tobey

Evocation (Aus: Transitions), 1970

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1960

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1960

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Abstrakte Komposition, 1968

Mark Tobey

Abstrakte Komposition, 1968

Sale Date: September 20, 2012

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Untitled, 1961

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: September 20, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: September 7, 2012

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Half and Half (9 works), 1970

Mark Tobey

Half and Half (9 works), 1970

Sale Date: September 4, 2012

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Gathering (9 works), 1970

Mark Tobey

Gathering (9 works), 1970

Sale Date: September 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Vertical Composition; Winter(3 works);..., 1967

Mark Tobey

Vertical Composition; Winter(3 works);..., 1967

Sale Date: September 4, 2012

Auction Closed

Nightflight (9 works)

Mark Tobey

Nightflight (9 works)

Sale Date: September 4, 2012

Auction Closed

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