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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2006.52
People
Mark Tobey, American (Centerville, WI 1890 - 1976 Basel, Switzerland)
François Lafranca
Edition de Beauclair, Frankfurt am Main
Title
Trio, from the Transitions portfolio
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1970
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/5242

Physical Descriptions

Technique
Aquatint
Dimensions
plate: 31.6 x 24.1 cm (12 7/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
sheet: 53.1 x 42.7 cm (20 7/8 x 16 13/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: lower right in graphite pencil: Tobey 1970.
  • inscription: lower margin, graphite pencil, signed, in artist's hand: 26/75 Tobey 1970.
  • chop: lower left corner, compression: Edition de Beauclair, Frankfurt am Main

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Edition
26/75
Standard Reference Number
Heidenheim 1

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift in memory of Ruth Sager from Arthur B. Pardee and Ann B. Goodman
Copyright
© Mark Tobey / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Accession Year
2006
Object Number
2006.52
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary
These three prints are from Mark Tobey's Transitions portfolio of seven aquatints. Tobey, one of the "mystical painters of the Northwest," had become a member of the Bahai World Faith in 1918 and in 1934 visited China and Japan. His noted "white writing" style of painting--an overlay of white calligraphic style symbols on an abstract field--evolved from his study of Asian calligraphy and brush painting during this visit. Tobey spent much of his life working in the Seattle area but in 1960 moved to Basel, Switzerland. The Transitions portfolio was published in Frankfurt in 1970 and the prints clearly grow out of his "white writing" style. The titles of the prints, Trio, Devoted, and Movement in White convey the artist's life-long interest in spiritual themes.

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu