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Martha Diamond Art

American, 1944-2024

Martha Diamond was an American artist. She was born and raised in Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, Queens, New York. Her father, a doctor, inspired her interest in abstract art while taking her on drives to Manhattan to see his patients. This would later influence her exhibition "Cityscapes."

Diamond translated the energy and physicality of New York City into expressive abstract cityscapes. Her paintings and prints depict not only the scale and grandeur of New York’s robust skyscrapers and buildings, but also the shadows, reflections, and distinct qualities of light that mark and tint the building facades.

Working wet on wet, Diamond imbued her Expressionist paintings with a lush, atmospheric quality teeming with gestural dynamism. With her methodical paintings of the New York City skyline from different vantage points and times of day, her practice welcomes comparisons to Monet’s “Rouen Cathedral” series. Alex Katz wrote the introduction to her catalogue.

Diamond was part of a generation of groundbreaking feminist women artists that included Laurie Anderson, Jennifer Bartlett, Lynda Benglis, Deborah Butterfield, Louisa Chase, Janet Fish, Jane Freilicher, Nancy Graves, Jenny Holzer and others. In 1988, Diamond's Abstract Expressionist exhibition was staged at the Robert Miller Gallery. Her art was described as "deceptively simple, full of hidden skills and decisions that only gradually reveal themselves."

Diamond's work is held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Australia, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art.

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(Biography provided by Lions Gallery)

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Artist: Martha Diamond
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Previously Available Items

Martha Diamond art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Martha Diamond available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Martha Diamond in aquatint, etching, lithograph and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Martha Diamond, so small editions measuring 25 inches across are available. Martha Diamond prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,200 and tops out at $2,000, while the average work can sell for $1,600.