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)

Brown with gold, 1963

Mark Tobey

Brown with gold, 1963

Sale Date: March 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition, 1966

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1966

Sale Date: March 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition, 1966

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1966

Sale Date: March 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Pensées germinales, 1972

Mark Tobey

Pensées germinales, 1972

Sale Date: March 26, 2005

Auction Closed

Rive gauche I, 1956

Mark Tobey

Rive gauche I, 1956

Sale Date: April 6, 2005

Auction Closed

The ever seeing eye, 1974–1975

Mark Tobey

The ever seeing eye, 1974–1975

Sale Date: April 6, 2005

Auction Closed

Transformation (+ Sonata, 1975; 2 works), 1974

Mark Tobey

Transformation (+ Sonata, 1975; 2 works), 1974

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

Salute to Tobey (set of 5, incl. 2 color..., 1974

Mark Tobey

Salute to Tobey (set of 5, incl. 2 color..., 1974

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

Message from a desert star, 1971

Mark Tobey

Message from a desert star, 1971

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

They've come back: I and II (2 works), 1971–1975

Mark Tobey

They've come back: I and II (2 works), 1971–1975

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

Forms in progress: I and II (2 works), 1971

Mark Tobey

Forms in progress: I and II (2 works), 1971

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

Impromptus on Omar Khayyam (set of 6), 1970

Mark Tobey

Impromptus on Omar Khayyam (set of 6), 1970

Sale Date: March 18, 2005

Auction Closed

Drums, Indian and Word of God, 1944

Mark Tobey

Drums, Indian and Word of God, 1944

Sale Date: March 15, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition, 1961

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1961

Sale Date: February 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Bale, 1966

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: February 23, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 24, 2004

Auction Closed

Divertimento, 1972

Mark Tobey

Divertimento, 1972

Sale Date: November 24, 2004

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1964

Mark Tobey

Ohne Titel, 1964

Sale Date: November 11, 2004

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 11, 2004

Auction Closed

Little world III (+ Dream in a castle; 2..., 1960

Mark Tobey

Little world III (+ Dream in a castle; 2..., 1960

Sale Date: February 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1954–1957

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1954–1957

Sale Date: February 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Echo des indiens

Mark Tobey

Echo des indiens

Sale Date: February 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1952

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1952

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

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