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 (5 works, 3 dated, two 1968, 2..., 1967

Mark Tobey

Untitled (5 works, 3 dated, two 1968, 2..., 1967

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition (Grey), 1966

Mark Tobey

Composition (Grey), 1966

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1967

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition, 1967

Mark Tobey

Composition, 1967

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition (Brown), 1967

Mark Tobey

Composition (Brown), 1967

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Composition with blue and red, 1967

Mark Tobey

Composition with blue and red, 1967

Sale Date: February 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Divertimento, 1972

Mark Tobey

Divertimento, 1972

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Abstrakte Komposition, 1964

Mark Tobey

Abstrakte Komposition, 1964

Sale Date: December 7, 2004

Auction Closed

Rising hills, 1967

Mark Tobey

Rising hills, 1967

Sale Date: February 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965

Mark Tobey

Untitled, 1965

Sale Date: February 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Sheep in the moonlight, 1935

Mark Tobey

Sheep in the moonlight, 1935

Sale Date: July 18, 2004

Auction Closed

Face, 1970

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: October 16, 2004

Auction Closed

Gospel song

Mark Tobey

Sale Date: November 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Sonata (+ 6 works; 7 works)

Mark Tobey

Sonata (+ 6 works; 7 works)

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Timeless world (+ 6 works; 7 works), 1974

Mark Tobey

Timeless world (+ 6 works; 7 works), 1974

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Transformations (+ 10 others; 11 works), 1974

Mark Tobey

Transformations (+ 10 others; 11 works), 1974

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Red's return (+ 6 others; 7 works), 1974

Mark Tobey

Red's return (+ 6 others; 7 works), 1974

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Golden days (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1974

Mark Tobey

Golden days (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1974

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Longing for community (+ 6 others; 7 works), 1973

Mark Tobey

Longing for community (+ 6 others; 7 works), 1973

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Milady (+ 4 others; 5 works), 1973

Mark Tobey

Milady (+ 4 others; 5 works), 1973

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Message from a desert star (+ 2 others; 3..., 1971

Mark Tobey

Message from a desert star (+ 2 others; 3..., 1971

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Summer joy (+ 5 others; 6 works), 1972

Mark Tobey

Summer joy (+ 5 others; 6 works), 1972

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

They've come back I (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1971

Mark Tobey

They've come back I (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1971

Sale Date: December 4, 2004

Auction Closed

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