Agnes Martin Art
American, 1912-2004
Born on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, Agnes Martin immigrated to the United States in 1932 in the hopes of becoming a teacher. After earning a degree in art education, she moved to the desert plains of Taos, New Mexico, where she made abstract paintings with organic forms, which attracted the attention of renowned New York gallerist Betty Parsons, who convinced the artist to join her roster and move to New York in 1957. There, Martin lived and worked on Coenties Slip, a street in Lower Manhattan, alongside a community of artists—including Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jack Youngerman—who were all drawn to the area’s cheap rents, expansive loft spaces and proximity to the East River. Harbor Number 1 (1957), one of Martin’s earliest New York paintings, combines the geometric abstraction of her earlier Taos work with the newfound inspiration of the harbor landscape, evident in her choice of blue-gray palette.
Over the course of the next decade, Martin developed her signature format: six by six foot painted canvases, covered from edge to edge with meticulously penciled grids and finished with a thin layer of gesso. Though she often showed with other New York abstractionists, Martin’s focused pursuit charted new terrain that lay outside of both the broad gestural vocabulary of Abstract Expressionism and the systematic repetitions of Minimalism. Rather, her practice was tethered to spirituality and drew from a mix of Zen Buddhist and American Transcendentalist ideas. For Martin, painting was “a world without objects, without interruption… or obstacle. It is to accept the necessity of … going into a field of vision as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.”1
In 1967, at the height of her career, Martin faced the loss of her home to new development, the sudden death of her friend Ad Reinhardt, and the growing strain of mental illness; she left New York, and returned to Taos, where she abandoned painting, instead pursuing writing and meditation in isolation. Her return to painting in 1974 was marked by a subtle shift in style: no longer defined by the delicate graphite grid, compositions such as Untitled Number 5 (1975) display bolder geometric schemes—like distant relatives of her earliest works. In these late paintings, Martin evoked the warm palette of the arid desert landscape where she remained for the rest of her life.(Biography provided by Sager Reeves Gallery)
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Agnes Martin Praise, Limited Edition Minimalist print with gold stamp signature
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
AGNES MARTIN
Praise, 1976
Lithograph on Dalton Natural Bond paper. Gold stamped signature on the front
Pencil numbered 699 from the limited edition of 1000
Accompanied by the origina...
Category
1970s Minimalist Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph
Untitled (from Paintings and Drawings: 1974-1990) Portfolio of ten lithographs
By Agnes Martin
Located in Bristol, GB
Portfolio of ten lithographs on vellum
Edition of2500 (reported)
30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12in) each
Not signed or numbered
Condition upon request
Our mission is to connect art collecto...
Category
1990s Contemporary Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Praise
By Agnes Martin
Located in Houston, TX
Agnes Martin
"Praise" 1976
Offset lithograph on Dalton Natural Bond paper
11 x 11 inches
ed. 1000
Framed
Category
20th Century Abstract Geometric Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Offset
Agnes Martin, Set of 3 Lithographs from Untitled (from Paintings and Drawings)
By Agnes Martin
Located in Bristol, GB
3 lithographs on vellum (from the portfolio of ten)
Edition of 2500 (reported)
Not signed or numbered
Artwork in mint condition. Minor imperfections on original packaging. Sold in or...
Category
1990s Contemporary Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Vellum, Lithograph
Agnes Martin Recent Paintings Limited Edition 1977 PACE Gallery invite on vellum
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
Agnes Martin Recent Paintings, 1977
Offset Lithograph invitation on Vellum
12 × 12 inches
Edition of 2000
Unframed
This early print is an exhibition invitation to the Pace Gallery's 1977 Agnes Martin show in New York. The image is a reproduction of a painting from the show, approved by Martin to be used on the invitation to the show. It is printed on a fragile, almost transparent vellum that captures the delicate power of the art. Less than 2000...
Category
1970s Abstract Geometric Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Offset, Lithograph
Paintings and Drawings, by Agnes Martin 1974-1990 (Stedelijk), 1991
By Agnes Martin
Located in Kingsclere, GB
Paintings and Drawings, by Agnes Martin 1974-1990 (Stedelijk), 1991
Additional information:
Medium: complete set of ten lithographs on transparent vellum paper
each, 30 x 30 cm
11 3/4 x 11 3/4 in
Agnes Martin was an American painter who was born in Macklin, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1912, and became a US citizen in 1940. Martin is perhaps most recognised for her evocative paintings marked out in subtle pencil lines and pale colour washes. Although restrained, her style was underpinned by her deep conviction in the emotive and expressive power of art. Martin believed that spiritual inspiration and not intellect created great work. ‘Without awareness of beauty, innocence and happiness’ Martin wrote ‘one cannot make works of art’.
In a career spanning five decades, Martin became known for her square canvasses, meticulously rendered grids and repeat stripes, though her lesser-known early works consist of experiments with mixed media and works on paper. Martin thought of her works as studies in the pursuit of perfection.
Martin spent many years working in New York, where she was part of a contemporary of artists such as Sol LeWitt, Ann Truitt, Donald Judd and Ad Reinhardt – with whom she was close friends. In 1967, shortly after Reinhardt died and just as Martin’s art was gaining acclaim, she left the city and continued her investigations into Buddhism and meditation. She wished to experience true solitude and used this period of quiet reflection to produce some of her most significant writing, whilst situated in sparsely populated and remote areas of the United States and Canada. In 1968 Martin resettled in New Mexico and began building an adobe and log house in a remote mesa. She lived there alone and without modern conveniences for several years. In 1973 she began creating work again.
Agnes Martin’s influence reaches globally and plays a hugely significant role in 20th Century art history. Whilst known as a pioneer of abstract painting, her work as well as her reclusive lifestyle have served as an inspiration to creative practitioners in diverse disciplines. Painters, photographers, writers – and many devotees from the words of fashion, architecture and graphic design revisit and rephrase her perspectival studies and fascination with geometry, the legacy of which can be seen in investigations into brevity of line and muted colour palettes. Artists such as Richard Tuttle, Ellen Gallagher...
Category
20th Century Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Untitled No. 9
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 9
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Paintings and Drawings: Suite of 10 Separate (Individual) lithographs on vellum
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
AGNES MARTIN
Paintings and Drawings 1974-1990: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1991
The complete set of 10 lithographs in colours, on vellum parchment paper, with full margins, the shee...
Category
Mid-20th Century Minimalist Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph, Vellum
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Previously Available Items
Untitled No. 9
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Located in Columbia, MO
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H 11.75 in W 11.75 in D 0.1 in
Praise, Limited Edition, Dalton natural bond paper gold stamp signature
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
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Category
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Untitled No. 10
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 10
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
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Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Untitled No. 7
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 7
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Untitled No. 5
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 5
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Lithograph
Untitled No. 4
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 4
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
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21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
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Lithograph
Praise
By Agnes Martin
Located in Houston, TX
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"Praise" 1976
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Untitled No. 5
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Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 5
1991
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Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Framed: 19.25 x 19.25 inches
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
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Untitled No. 4
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 4
1991
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Ed. edition of 2500
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Framed: 19.25 x 19.25 inches
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21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
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Lithograph
Untitled No. 2
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 2
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Framed: 19.25 x 19.25 inches
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21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Agnes Martin Art
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Lithograph
Untitled No. 9
By Agnes Martin
Located in Columbia, MO
Untitled No. 9
1991
Lithographs on vellum parchment
Ed. edition of 2500
11.75 x 11.75 inches
Framed: 19.25 x 19.25 inches
Category
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Agnes Martin art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Agnes Martin available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Agnes Martin in lithograph, offset print, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the minimalist style. Not every interior allows for large Agnes Martin, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jack Sonenberg, George Rickey, and Vincent Longo. Agnes Martin prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,000 and tops out at $10,900, while the average work can sell for $3,029.
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Questions About Agnes Martin Art
- Why did Agnes Martin paint?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Agnes Martin painted because of religious reasons. She viewed producing art as a form of spiritual meditation, borrowing from concepts of Zen Buddhism and American Transcendentalist philosophers. Shop a collection of Agnes Martin art from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.