Skip to main content

Martin Puryear Art

American, b. 1941

One of the most lauded contemporary American sculptors, Martin Puryear (b. 1941) has had — and continues to have — an impressive career. 

Born in Washington, D.C., where he earned a fine art degree from the Catholic University of America in 1963, Puryear started his journey not in fine art, but in craft. As a teen, he learned how to build everything from furniture to musical instruments to canoes. Later, following his undergraduate work, he joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Sierra Leone and learned traditional craft methods, including pottery, weaving and woodworking. He then studied printmaking in Sweden before returning to the United States and earning his MFA from Yale University’s School of Art and Architecture. There, he specialized in sculpture.

Blending minimalism with the craft arts, Puryear’s work is often abstract and large scale. His sculptures of hemp rope, wood, bronze and more are studies of both form and material. And beneath the surface, his works touch upon complicated topics, including religion and Black history: Several of his pieces acknowledge iconic Black figures such as Sally Hemings (Thomas Jefferson’s slave and mother to six of his children) and Booker T. Washington, a former slave who became a prominent leader in the Black community and founded what is now Tuskegee University.

Puryear represented the United States at the 1989 Bienal de São Paulo, where he won the festival’s Grand Prize, and at the 2019 Venice Biennale. He has also received the National Medal of Arts, the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture. Puryear’s works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in Indiana and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University in California.

Find Martin Puryear’s art on 1stDibs.

to
1
5
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
4
2
1
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
6
8,049
5,264
2,504
1,658
6
Artist: Martin Puryear
Los Angeles Olympic Games 1984 (hand signed with official Olympic Committee COA)
By Martin Puryear
Located in New York, NY
Martin Puryear Los Angeles Olympic Games 1984, 1982 Offset Lithograph on Parsons Diploma Parchment Paper Hand signed on the front with COA, Edition of 750 (though only approximately 200-250 remain) 21 × 34 1/2 inches Unframed This limited edition, pencil signed offset lithograph was published in a limited edition of 750, and printed as one of the fifteen Official Fine Art Olympic Posters for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A statement released by the 1984 Olympic committee explains the set as follows - "The posters commissioned for the 1984 Olympics contain an enlightened selection of the best American artists with special emphasis on those who work in Southern California...As the Games develop, transpire and pass into memory, these fifteen posters contain the images, forms and symbols that will represent the 1984 Olympics in the museums, galleries, homes and the minds of people all over the world.” Printed and Published by Knapp Communications Corporation and includes Certificate of Authenticity from the publisher. This work is NOT to be confused with the ubiquitous plate signed poster of the same image, which was printed on different paper in an open edition.) In 1982, the Olympic Committee commissioned 15 artists to create posters for the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Hockney designed this offset lithograph depicting Olympic swimming...
Category

1980s Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Parchment Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Side (Beijing)
By Martin Puryear
Located in Berkeley, CA
COLOR HARDGROUND ETCHING WITH AQUATINT AND DRYPOINT. RIVES BFK PAPER IMAGE SIZE: 24” x 24”; PAPER SIZE: 35” x 34” EDITION OF 40
Category

2010s Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching

Lean To
By Martin Puryear
Located in San Francisco, CA
Edition of 50
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching

End (Beijing)
By Martin Puryear
Located in Berkeley, CA
COLOR HARDGROUND ETCHING WITH AQUATINT AND DRYPOINT. RIVES BFK PAPER IMAGE SIZE: 24” x 18”; PAPER SIZE: 35” x 28” EDITION OF 40
Category

2010s Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching

From Above (Beijing)
By Martin Puryear
Located in Berkeley, CA
COLOR HARDGROUND ETCHING WITH AQUATINT AND DRYPOINT. RIVES BFK PAPER IMAGE SIZE: 18” x 24”; PAPER SIZE: 29” x 34” EDITION OF 40
Category

2010s Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching

Drawing for Sanctuary
By Martin Puryear
Located in San Francisco, CA
Framed: 24 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches
Category

1980s Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Pencil

Related Items
Untitled (from Ten Painters on War and Peace), hand signed lithograph
By Ivan Schwebel
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph in colors on arches paper. Hand signed and numbered by Ivan Schwebel. Edition 115/190. From the "Ten Painters on War and Peace" portfolio. Printed on May 10, 1978 to ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph

Donald Baechler Szechuan Garden 2003 (Donald Baechler prints)
By Donald Baechler
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Donald Baechler, Szechuan Garden, 2003: Medium: Aquatint and soft-ground etching. Sheet size: 27 x 34 inches. Edition of 35 (30 + 5 artists proofs). Hand-signed, dated and numbered on bottom of sheet. Printed on Hanhnemuhle paper. Unframed. Acquired directly from publisher. Artist Biography: Donald Baechler, a member of the East Village art scene in 1980s New York, is known for his painting-collage-drawing works depicting of childhood imagery and nostalgic ephemera like grammar school primers, old maps, and children’s drawings...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Symbolic Self-Portrait with Equals
By Claes Oldenburg
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color offset lithograph on white, thick, smooth Louvain Supreme Vellum Bristol 150-pound paper. Signed and numbered 190/300 in pencil. Printed by Color...
Category

1970s Pop Art Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Vellum, Color, Lithograph, Offset

The Tree Climber
By Kit Boyd
Located in Deddington, GB
Kit Boyd The Tree Climber Etching and Aquatint on Hahnemuhle etching paper Hand printed by the artist in Prussian Blue. Edition of 50 signed copies. Image size 45x30cm this work is s...
Category

2010s Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Paper, Etching, Aquatint

The Tree Climber
The Tree Climber
H 15.75 in W 21.66 in D 0.08 in
Untitled I
By Johnny Friedlaender
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Untitled I" c.1970 in an original color aquatint on Arches paper by noted Polish artist Johnny Friedlaender, 1912-1992. It is hand signed and numbered 128/135 in pencil...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Aquatint

Untitled I
Untitled I
H 19.75 in W 13 in D 0.01 in
Keith Haring Paradise Garage Exhibit Poster 'Keith Haring Jeffrey Deitch'
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Rare vintage Keith Haring exhibition poster published on the occasion of: ‘Paradise Garage: Keith Haring and Music, December 14, 2000-February 10, 2001, Deitch Projects, 18 Wooster ...
Category

1980s Pop Art Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Remains of Henry II's Palace, late 18th century English sepia aquatint, 1799
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Remains of Henry II's Palace, as it stood in Woodstock Park in 1714' Aquatint published by Samuel Ireland. From his 'Picturesque Views on the River Thames'. Ireland was an author a...
Category

Late 18th Century Naturalistic Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Engraving, Etching, Aquatint

"Noir #11", Contemporary Miniature Figurative Abstract Lithograph in Black
Located in Soquel, CA
Miniature contemporary black and white abstract expressionist lithograph of a highly abstracted face in white by Bay Area artist Peter Foley (American, 20th/21stCentury). Signed "P.F...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Expressionist Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Parchment Paper, Lithograph

Lady Washington's Levee - 1932 Etching on Paper
By Walter Tittle
Located in Soquel, CA
Lady Washington's Levee - 1932 Etching on Paper 1932 black and white etching titled "Lady Washington's Levee" (from the portfolio "The Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington"), 1...
Category

1930s American Impressionist Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Laid Paper, Etching

The Rat and the Elephant - Original Etching - Ref. Sorlier #179
By Marc Chagall
Located in Paris, IDF
Marc Chagall Fables : The Rat and the Elephant, 1952 Original etching Printed signature in the plate On Montval vellum 39 x 30 cm (c. 15.5 x 12 in) With COA of the gallery and photo...
Category

1950s Modern Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Breathe
Located in Deddington, GB
Breathe [2019] limited_edition Etching and aquatint Edition number /40 Image size: H:15 cm x W:15 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:26 cm x W:26 cm x D:0.1cm Sold Unframed Please...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Breathe
Breathe
H 10.24 in W 10.24 in D 0.04 in
Untitled IV
By Johnny Friedlaender
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "Untitled IV" c.1970 in an original color aquatint on Arches paper by noted Polish artist Johnny Friedlaender, 1912-1992. It is hand signed and numbered 128/135 in penci...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Aquatint

Untitled IV
Untitled IV
H 19.75 in W 13 in D 0.01 in
Previously Available Items
Cane by Jean Toomer
By Martin Puryear
Located in New York, NY
PURYEAR, Martin. Cane. By Jean Toomer. 141, [3] pp. Illustrated with 10 woodcuts by Martin Puryear, and an afterword by Leon LF. Litwack. Oblong folio, bound in original tan clo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Paper

Dark Loop
By Martin Puryear
Located in Buffalo, NY
Dark Loop, 1982 Woodcut on ivory Japanese paper 20 1/2 × 27 4/5 in 52.1 × 70.6 cm Edition of 2/2 (A.P.) This work is in pristine mint condition and would come with a COA and apprais...
Category

1980s Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Woodcut

Untitled (LA MoCA Portfolio)
By Martin Puryear
Located in San Francisco, CA
Category

Martin Puryear Art

Drawing for Sanctuary
By Martin Puryear
Located in San Francisco, CA
Category

Martin Puryear Art

Materials

Pencil, Paper

Phrygian
By Martin Puryear
Located in San Francisco, CA
Edition of 50
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Martin Puryear Art

Martin Puryear art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Martin Puryear available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Martin Puryear in etching, aquatint, drypoint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Martin Puryear, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Richard Tuttle, James Brooks, and Paul Burlin. Martin Puryear prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,500 and tops out at $60,000, while the average work can sell for $8,000.

Artists Similar to Martin Puryear

Recently Viewed

View All