Movement in White, from the Transitions portfolio

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 2006.51
People: Mark Tobey, American (Centerville, WI 1890 - 1976 Basel, Switzerland)
François Lafranca
Edition de Beauclair, Frankfurt am Main
Title: Movement in White, from the Transitions portfolio
Classification: Prints
Work Type: print
Date: 1970
Culture: American
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/5074

Physical Descriptions

Technique

Aquatint

Dimensions

plate: 31.7 x 24.3 cm (12 1/2 x 9 9/16 in.)
sheet: 52.9 x 43 cm (20 13/16 x 16 15/16 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
inscription: verso, graphite pencil: 8698a
chop: lower left corner, compression: Edition de Beauclair Frankfurt am Main

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Edition: 26/75
Standard Reference Number: Heidenheim 6

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift in memory of Ruth Sager from Arthur B. Pardee and Ann B. Goodman
Accession Year: 2006
Object Number: 2006.51
Division: Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact: am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions: The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

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

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