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)

Composition, 1960

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1960

Sale Date: November 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1953

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1953

Sale Date: November 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (portfolio of , 1971

Mark Tobey

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (portfolio of , 1971

Sale Date: November 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (Letter), 1964

Mark Tobey

Untitled (Letter), 1964

Sale Date: November 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Figure (+ 3 others, charcoal on paper; 3..., 1928

Mark Tobey

Figure (+ 3 others, charcoal on paper; 3..., 1928

Sale Date: November 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Abstrakte Komposition

Mark Tobey

Abstrakte Komposition

Sale Date: November 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Rückenansicht eines Samurais mit Schwert, 1934

Mark Tobey

Rückenansicht eines Samurais mit Schwert, 1934

Sale Date: November 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Summer breeze (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1970

Mark Tobey

Summer breeze (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1970

Sale Date: November 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Head (+ 7 others; 8 works), 1967

Mark Tobey

Head (+ 7 others; 8 works), 1967

Sale Date: November 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Utan titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Utan titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Utan titel, 1967

Mark Tobey

Utan titel, 1967

Sale Date: October 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: October 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1960

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1960

Sale Date: October 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Composition, 1968

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1968

Sale Date: October 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1968

Mark Tobey

Senza titolo, 1968

Sale Date: October 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (from Das lebenslängliche Interview)

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (from Das lebenslängliche Interview)

Sale Date: October 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Transitions (portfolio of 7), 1970

Mark Tobey

Transitions (portfolio of 7), 1970

Sale Date: September 30, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: September 27, 2010

Auction Closed

The season's encounter, 1970

Mark Tobey

The season's encounter, 1970

Sale Date: September 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: September 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Flames of color, 1974

Mark Tobey

Flames of color, 1974

Sale Date: September 17, 2010

Auction Closed

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