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)

Flight over forms, 1966

Mark Tobey

Flight over forms, 1966

Sale Date: December 8, 2006

Auction Closed

Summer breeze, 1970

Mark Tobey

Summer breeze, 1970

Sale Date: December 8, 2006

Auction Closed

Folk dance on independence day (2 works)

Mark Tobey

Folk dance on independence day (2 works)

Sale Date: December 8, 2006

Auction Closed

Composition, 1954

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1954

Sale Date: November 29, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Tidal discoveries), 1940–1949

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (Tidal discoveries), 1940–1949

Sale Date: November 30, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Kopf), 1968

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (Kopf), 1968

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Porträt), 1964

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel (Porträt), 1964

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

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 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Longing for community (+ They'v come back; 2 , 1973

Mark Tobey

Longing for community (+ They'v come back; 2 , 1973

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Summer joy (+ Sonata, color silkscreen; 2..., 1972

Mark Tobey

Summer joy (+ Sonata, color silkscreen; 2..., 1972

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Forms in progress I, 1971

Mark Tobey

Forms in progress I, 1971

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Divertimento (+ Liberation; 2 works), 1971

Mark Tobey

Divertimento (+ Liberation; 2 works), 1971

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1937

Mark Tobey

Senza titolo, 1937

Sale Date: November 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Flight, 1949

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Meanders (portfolio of 9 w/text), 1976

Mark Tobey

Meanders (portfolio of 9 w/text), 1976

Sale Date: November 16, 2006

Auction Closed

Komposition

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: November 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: November 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: November 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: November 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1961

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1961

Sale Date: November 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Sommitelma

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 2, 2006

Auction Closed

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