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.to
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Artist: Agnes Martin
Praise, Rubber Stamp Portfolio, Agnes Martin
By Agnes Martin
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Printer’s ink from rubber stamp on vélin Dalton natural bond paper. Paper Size: 8 x 8 inches. Inscription: Unsigned, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Rubber Stamp Portfolio, 1977. P...
Category
1970s Minimalist Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Printer's Ink
$5,996 Sale Price
20% Off
Paintings & Drawings, from the Stedelijk Museum Portfolio Modern Lithograph Set
By Agnes Martin
Located in Houston, TX
This complete portfolio is comprised of ten lithographs along with the original slipcase produced for the artist's 1991 retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and supplemen...
Category
1990s Abstract Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Vellum, Lithograph
Untitled #10, Minimalist lithograph on vellum transparency paper unsigned Framed
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
Agnes Martin
Untitled #10, 1990
Lithograph on vellum transparency paper
Unsigned
Limited Edition of 2500
Publisher: Nemela & Lenzen GmbH, Monchengladback & Stedelijk Museum, Amsterda...
Category
1990s Minimalist Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Vellum, Lithograph
On a Clear Day #15 1973
By Agnes Martin
Located in Rochester Hills, MI
Artist: Agnes Martin
Title: On a Clear Day #15
Year: 1973
Screenprint Japanese Rag paper Image size: 6 7/8 x 8 inches (17.5 x 20.3 cm)
Paper size: 12 x 12 inches (30.5 x 30.5 cm)
Fra...
Category
1970s Minimalist Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Screen
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
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
Untitled No. 7
By Agnes Martin
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Untitled No. 7" is an abstract Post War acrylic, pencil and gesso on canvas by Agnes Martin in 1974. The artwork is 72 x 72 inches and, with the frame, is 72 3/8 x 72 3/8 x 1 1/2 in...
Category
20th Century Post-War Agnes Martin Art
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Acrylic, Pencil
Price Upon Request
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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
- 1stDibs ExpertOctober 24, 2024To find out how much an old painting is worth, you have two main options. The first is to look at historic sale prices for similar paintings by the same artist. If you're unsure who painted your piece, try snapping a photo of the signature and conducting a search with the app Smartify. Because the condition, size and other characteristics play a major role in determining how much a painting is worth, you may prefer to take the second approach — having a certified appraiser or experienced art dealer evaluate your painting. On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of paintings.
- 1stDibs ExpertAugust 15, 2024Agnes Martin made around 450 paintings over the course of her life. However, no one knows the exact number. After she developed her grid system in 1960, Martin destroyed all of her earlier pieces, so it's possible that many works were lost. On 1stDibs, find a variety of Agnes Martin art from some of the world's top galleries.
- 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.