Agnes Martin

Agnes Martin (1912-2004) grew up in Vancouver and moved to the Pacific North West in 1931. Martin studied at Western Washington University College of Education, Bellingham, Washington, prior to receiving her B.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1942. While living in New York, Martin became interested in modern art and took many studio classes at Teachers College. In 1947 she attended the Summer Field School of the University of New Mexico in Taos, New Mexico. Martin would return to New Mexico in the mid 1950s. It was during this time that Martin created her first paintings, earning her an invitation from gallery owner Betty Parsons to move to New York to pursue a career as an artist in 1957. After ten years in the city, Martin returned to the west, traveling for 18 months before settling down in seclusion just beyond the village of Cuba, New Mexico. In this time of transition, Martin ceased making art from 1967 to 1973. The print portfolio On A Clear Day was made at the end of this transitory period and inaugurated the second phase of Martin’s career. Since her first solo exhibition in 1958, Martin’s work has been the subject of more than 85 solo shows and two retrospectives including the survey, Agnes Martin, organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and Agnes Martin: Paintings and Drawings 1974–1990 organized by the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.