Mark Tobey

The major contribution of Mark Tobey to twentieth century art is still inadequately appreciated, perhaps because he never tried to market himself or his art as did many of his contemporaries. He drew inspiration and technique from many cultures of East and West, from cities, nature and science, and created art that broke new ground and influenced many other artists. In particular, his efforts to reflect spirituality in art set him apart from his secular century, but will ensure that he is remembered long after most of his contemporaries. He accepted the Bahá'í Faith in 1918 and, for the rest of his life, Bahá'í principles and concepts interacted with his sensitive soul and creative imagination as he sought new ways to express what he felt and experienced. The art that he has left to humanity reflects that life-long journey. It resonates with our spirits and enriches our lives.

In his work, Tobey focused on man, nature, God, unity and equilibrium. He used space as a theme as well as an illusion of painting. It represented the place we live everyday, the blanket of atmosphere surrounding the Earth, and the “inner space” conceived by the mind. Tobey reacted against the post-Cubistic ideas of his time of depicting a recognizable image within a definable space and instead advocated the integration of object and space in a “unified field image.” Tobey is famous for his white writing paintings which cover the surface of an abstract field of color made up of thousands of brushstrokes.