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, 1954

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1954

Sale Date: March 10, 2009

Auction Closed

Rhythms, 1959

Mark Tobey

Rhythms, 1959

Sale Date: February 26, 2009

Auction Closed

Nudes in a boudoir

Mark Tobey

Nudes in a boudoir

Sale Date: January 14, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: January 14, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled - Darwin (dbl-sided), 1952

Mark Tobey

Untitled - Darwin (dbl-sided), 1952

Sale Date: January 14, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled - Composition with figures (diptych), 1954

Mark Tobey

Untitled - Composition with figures (diptych), 1954

Sale Date: January 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Rhythms, 1959

Mark Tobey

Rhythms, 1959

Sale Date: December 11, 2008

Auction Closed

Salute to Tobey (portfolio of 5, incl. 2..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Salute to Tobey (portfolio of 5, incl. 2..., 1974

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Folk dance on Independence Day (2 works), 1972

Mark Tobey

Folk dance on Independence Day (2 works), 1972

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Phantasy in red and black, 1970

Mark Tobey

Phantasy in red and black, 1970

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

They've come back II, 1971

Mark Tobey

They've come back II, 1971

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Transitions (7 works), 1970

Mark Tobey

Transitions (7 works), 1970

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Blossoming moments, 1971

Mark Tobey

Blossoming moments, 1971

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1953

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1953

Sale Date: December 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Black painting, 1966

Mark Tobey

Black painting, 1966

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Composition in red, 1969

Mark Tobey

Composition in red, 1969

Sale Date: December 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Sumi, 1957

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Glowing fall, 1975

Mark Tobey

Glowing fall, 1975

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

They've come back II, 1971

Mark Tobey

They've come back II, 1971

Sale Date: December 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Summer joy, 1972

Mark Tobey

Summer joy, 1972

Sale Date: November 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Divertimento, 1971

Mark Tobey

Divertimento, 1971

Sale Date: November 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (suite of 6), 1970

Mark Tobey

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (suite of 6), 1970

Sale Date: November 28, 2008

Auction Closed

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