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)

Untitled, 1954

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1954

Sale Date: November 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Komposition i grönt, 1965

Mark Tobey

Komposition i grönt, 1965

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Utan titel, 1961

Mark Tobey

Utan titel, 1961

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Utan titel, 1968

Mark Tobey

Utan titel, 1968

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Lights

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Utan titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Komposition i rött, 1965

Mark Tobey

Komposition i rött, 1965

Sale Date: November 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Blossoming

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1961

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1961

Sale Date: October 25, 2005

Auction Closed

Transformation, pl. 4 (from Salute to Tobey..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Transformation, pl. 4 (from Salute to Tobey..., 1974

Sale Date: October 22, 2005

Auction Closed

Compagnionship, pl. 2 (from Salute to Tobey..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Compagnionship, pl. 2 (from Salute to Tobey..., 1974

Sale Date: October 22, 2005

Auction Closed

Blossoming moments, 1971

Mark Tobey

Blossoming moments, 1971

Sale Date: October 22, 2005

Auction Closed

Longing for community, 1973

Mark Tobey

Longing for community, 1973

Sale Date: October 29, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (Stars), 1966

Mark Tobey

Untitled (Stars), 1966

Sale Date: October 6, 2005

Auction Closed

October, 1971

Mark Tobey

October, 1971

Sale Date: September 24, 2005

Auction Closed

Trio, pl.1 (from Transitions), 1970

Mark Tobey

Trio, pl.1 (from Transitions), 1970

Sale Date: September 24, 2005

Auction Closed

Movement in white, pl.7 (from Tansitions), 1970

Mark Tobey

Movement in white, pl.7 (from Tansitions), 1970

Sale Date: September 24, 2005

Auction Closed

Hommage to Tobey, 1974

Mark Tobey

Hommage to Tobey, 1974

Sale Date: September 29, 2005

Auction Closed

Golden Days (+ Crowded house, lithograph; 2..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Golden Days (+ Crowded house, lithograph; 2..., 1974

Sale Date: September 29, 2005

Auction Closed

Divertimento (+ Longing for community; 2..., 1972

Mark Tobey

Divertimento (+ Longing for community; 2..., 1972

Sale Date: September 29, 2005

Auction Closed

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

Mark Tobey

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

Sale Date: September 29, 2005

Auction Closed

Flight over form, 1966

Mark Tobey

Flight over form, 1966

Sale Date: September 29, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: September 23, 2005

Auction Closed

Head, 1960

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: September 23, 2005

Auction Closed

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