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)

The woven world, 1974

Mark Tobey

The woven world, 1974

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Forms in Progress I (+ Forms in Progress II; , 1971

Mark Tobey

Forms in Progress I (+ Forms in Progress II; , 1971

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

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

Mark Tobey

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

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1967

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1967

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1966

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1966

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Head, 1961

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Small head, 1960

Mark Tobey

Small head, 1960

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Face, 1970

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Companionship, pl.2 (from Salute to Tobey -..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Companionship, pl.2 (from Salute to Tobey -..., 1974

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Thanksgiving leaf, 1971

Mark Tobey

Thanksgiving leaf, 1971

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Message from a desert Star, 1971

Mark Tobey

Message from a desert Star, 1971

Sale Date: October 15, 2008

Auction Closed

Market scene, 1941

Mark Tobey

Market scene, 1941

Sale Date: October 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Nudes in a boudoir

Mark Tobey

Nudes in a boudoir

Sale Date: September 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (+ another, lrgr; 2 works), 1973

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (+ another, lrgr; 2 works), 1973

Sale Date: September 27, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1969

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1969

Sale Date: September 27, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1967

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1967

Sale Date: September 27, 2008

Auction Closed

Figures, 1934

Mark Tobey

Figures, 1934

Sale Date: September 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Landscape, 1956

Mark Tobey

Landscape, 1956

Sale Date: July 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Composition in yellow and blue, 1950

Mark Tobey

Composition in yellow and blue, 1950

Sale Date: July 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Fragment (+ Underground fragment, black; 2..., 1973

Mark Tobey

Fragment (+ Underground fragment, black; 2..., 1973

Sale Date: July 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Portrait, 1951

Mark Tobey

Portrait, 1951

Sale Date: July 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Composition, 1966

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1966

Sale Date: July 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Composition, 1967

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1967

Sale Date: July 6, 2008

Auction Closed

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