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)

Midwinternight, 1967

Mark Tobey

Midwinternight, 1967

Sale Date: April 26, 2007

Auction Closed

Composition, 1962

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1962

Sale Date: March 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Blossoming moments, 1971

Mark Tobey

Blossoming moments, 1971

Sale Date: March 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1969

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1969

Sale Date: March 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Composition, 1961

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1961

Sale Date: April 4, 2007

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: March 24, 2007

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1967

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1967

Sale Date: March 24, 2007

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1962

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1962

Sale Date: March 23, 2007

Auction Closed

Dancer, 1954

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: February 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1961

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1961

Sale Date: February 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Composition

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: February 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Composition

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: February 1, 2007

Auction Closed

John Canaday, Homage to Tobey (set of 6..., 1974

Mark Tobey

John Canaday, Homage to Tobey (set of 6..., 1974

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Clarte I, 1973

Mark Tobey

Clarte I, 1973

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

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

Mark Tobey

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

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

They've come back II, 1971–1975

Mark Tobey

They've come back II, 1971–1975

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (set of 6), 1970–1971

Mark Tobey

Six impromptus on Omar Khayyam (set of 6), 1970–1971

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ Untitled; 2 works), 1970

Mark Tobey

Untitled (+ Untitled; 2 works), 1970

Sale Date: February 8, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1961

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: February 7, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1960

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1960

Sale Date: February 7, 2007

Auction Closed

There was a door for which I found no key, 1970

Mark Tobey

There was a door for which I found no key, 1970

Sale Date: December 8, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1969

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1969

Sale Date: December 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1966

Mark Tobey

Sans titre, 1966

Sale Date: December 13, 2006

Auction Closed

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