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)

Ohne Titel (Komposition)

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (Komposition)

Sale Date: June 19, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled - Composition with figures (diptych), 1954

Mark Tobey

Untitled - Composition with figures (diptych), 1954

Sale Date: June 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: June 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: June 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: June 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1967

Sale Date: June 30, 2009

Auction Closed

Crowded city, 1974

Mark Tobey

Crowded city, 1974

Sale Date: June 18, 2009

Auction Closed

Gospel song, 1970

Mark Tobey

Gospel song, 1970

Sale Date: June 18, 2009

Auction Closed

They've come back II - Andruck, 1971–1975

Mark Tobey

They've come back II - Andruck, 1971–1975

Sale Date: June 18, 2009

Auction Closed

Thanksgiving leaf, 1971

Mark Tobey

Thanksgiving leaf, 1971

Sale Date: June 18, 2009

Auction Closed

Phantasy in red and black, 1970

Mark Tobey

Phantasy in red and black, 1970

Sale Date: June 18, 2009

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1968

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1968

Sale Date: June 17, 2009

Auction Closed

Black painting 66, 1966

Mark Tobey

Black painting 66, 1966

Sale Date: May 25, 2009

Auction Closed

Cloud

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: May 25, 2009

Auction Closed

Composition in gold, 1962

Mark Tobey

Composition in gold, 1962

Sale Date: May 25, 2009

Auction Closed

Self-portrait (+ Woven world, Irgr; 2 works), 1967

Mark Tobey

Self-portrait (+ Woven world, Irgr; 2 works), 1967

Sale Date: June 3, 2009

Auction Closed

Composition, white and rose, 1958

Mark Tobey

Composition, white and rose, 1958

Sale Date: June 11, 2009

Auction Closed

The Kabuki dancers, 1954

Mark Tobey

The Kabuki dancers, 1954

Sale Date: June 11, 2009

Auction Closed

Sky, 1964

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: June 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Landscape, 1956

Mark Tobey

Landscape, 1956

Sale Date: May 19, 2009

Auction Closed

Fragment (+ Untitled, etching, Irgr; 2..., 1973–1974

Mark Tobey

Fragment (+ Untitled, etching, Irgr; 2..., 1973–1974

Sale Date: May 17, 2009

Auction Closed

Message from a desert Star, 1971

Mark Tobey

Message from a desert Star, 1971

Sale Date: May 27, 2009

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1964

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1964

Sale Date: May 27, 2009

Auction Closed

Red, 1966

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: May 27, 2009

Auction Closed

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