Martin Puryear

(American, born 1941)

Martin Puryear is a contemporary African-American artist best known for his large hand-crafted sculptures and intricate prints. Melding abstraction with traditional woodworking, the artist creates works which act as metaphors that explore the subtleties of culture and identity. For his seminal piece Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996), Puryear created a crooked wooden ladder which dwindles in scale as it climbs from floor to ceiling, giving an exaggerated perspective to the work and obliquely referencing Booker T. Washington’s controversial advice to work hard as an African American in white society. “There remains this belief that the work itself can have an identity that can speak, whether it's through beauty, or through ugliness, or whatever quality you put into the work,” the artist has said. “The work doesn't have to be a transparent vehicle for you to say things about life today.” Born on May 23, 1941 in Washington, D.C., Puryear began his interest in traditional crafts starting from a young age. In 1963, after studying art at the Catholic University of America, he joined the Peace Corps and traveled to Sierra Leone, where he learned the local woodworking and craft techniques. The artist went on to study at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm where he was immersed in the austere aesthetics of modern furniture design. Receiving his MFA in sculpture from the Yale School of Art in 1971, Puryear has gone on to be included in the Whitney Biennial and documenta. In 2015, the Art Institute of Chicago organized the exhibition “Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions,” which opened at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York the same year. The artist currently lives and works in Accord, New York. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas, among others.

Martin Puryear Artworks

Martin Puryear (146 results)
Untitled, 1986

Martin Puryear

Untitled, 1986

Sale Date: November 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (Falcon), 1986–1987

Martin Puryear

Untitled (Falcon), 1986–1987

Sale Date: November 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1999

Martin Puryear

Untitled, 1999

Sale Date: July 16, 2013

Auction Closed

Cane (set of 10), 2000

Martin Puryear

Cane (set of 10), 2000

Sale Date: July 16, 2013

Auction Closed

Navy Pier, 1985

Martin Puryear

Navy Pier, 1985

Sale Date: June 19, 2013

Auction Closed

Hero, 1997

Martin Puryear

Hero, 1997

Sale Date: May 16, 2013

Auction Closed

Navy Pier, 1985

Martin Puryear

Navy Pier, 1985

Sale Date: April 24, 2013

Auction Closed

Black Cart, 2008

Martin Puryear

Black Cart, 2008

Sale Date: May 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Niche, 1999

Martin Puryear

Niche, 1999

Sale Date: December 17, 2012

Auction Closed

Three Holes

Martin Puryear

Three Holes

Sale Date: December 13, 2012

Auction Closed

Dark loop, 1982

Martin Puryear

Dark loop, 1982

Sale Date: December 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Mile of sculpture, 1985

Martin Puryear

Mile of sculpture, 1985

Sale Date: November 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2009

Martin Puryear

Untitled, 2009

Sale Date: November 9, 2011

Auction Closed

His eminence, 1993–1995

Martin Puryear

His eminence, 1993–1995

Sale Date: November 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Niche, 1999

Martin Puryear

Niche, 1999

Sale Date: May 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1969

Martin Puryear

Untitled, 1969

Sale Date: May 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Shoulders (State 2), 2005

Martin Puryear

Shoulders (State 2), 2005

Sale Date: November 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1999

Martin Puryear

Untitled, 1999

Sale Date: November 7, 2010

Auction Closed

untitled, 1999

Martin Puryear

untitled, 1999

Sale Date: June 4, 2009

Auction Closed

untitled, 1999

Martin Puryear

untitled, 1999

Sale Date: July 29, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled V, 2005

Martin Puryear

Untitled V, 2005

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Shoulders, 2005

Martin Puryear

Shoulders, 2005

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled V, 2005

Martin Puryear

Untitled V, 2005

Sale Date: March 6, 2010

Auction Closed

Chicago pier, 1995

Martin Puryear

Chicago pier, 1995

Sale Date: November 15, 2009

Auction Closed