Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman was an American abstract painter known for vast, often monochromatic color fields interrupted by narrow vertical stripes he called zips.
Painter
Agnes Martin
Agnes Martin was a Canadian-born American painter known for quiet abstract grids and stripes, delicate pencil lines, and softly colored canvases.
Agnes Martin quick facts
Martin is often associated with Minimalism, but she described her work as emotional and contemplative rather than industrial or impersonal in purpose.
| Full name | Agnes Bernice Martin |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1912 · Macklin, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | December 16, 2004 · Taos, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Nationality | American (born in Canada) |
| Movements | Minimalism (associated, with qualifications) · Abstract Expressionism (related outlook) |
| Paint types | Acrylic paint · oil paint (earlier paintings) · watercolor (works on paper) |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | Brass nails (Little Sister) |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · paper (watercolors and other studies) |
| Painting methods | Subtle acrylic washes over gesso and graphite-pencil grids, with earlier oil-and-ink constructions and watercolor on paper |
| Common subjects | Nonrepresentational grids, lines, bands, and subtle colors meant to evoke quiet, beauty, and emotional experience |
| Notable works | The Tree (1964) · Untitled #1 (1981) · With My Back to the World (1997) |
Sources: MoMA: Untitled #1 (acrylic, gesso, pencil), MoMA: Untitled (1952 watercolor), Guggenheim: Little Sister (oil and ink), Guggenheim: Martin and Minimalism, Smithsonian: Agnes Martin.
Paint types used by Agnes Martin
Martin used oil and ink in early grid paintings, watercolor on paper, and thin acrylic color on carefully prepared canvases in her later work.
-
Acrylic paint
MoMA catalogs Untitled #1 (1981) as gesso, acrylic, and pencil on canvas. Martin thinned the acrylic until the horizontal bands remain barely perceptible, while the pencil grid organizes the surface beneath them. The cataloged materials distinguish the paint from both the preparatory gesso and the drawn lines that guide the composition.
-
Oil paint
In Little Sister (1962), Martin combined oil and ink with brass nails on a small canvas mounted over wood. The irregular marks interrupt a loose grid, a different effect from the delicate bands of her later acrylic paintings. The Guggenheim identifies the nails as attached objects and ink as drawing medium, keeping both distinct from the oil paint.
-
Watercolor paint
MoMA catalogs Untitled (1952) as watercolor and ink on paper. This earlier work pairs transparent washes with drawn lines, showing a paper-based practice before Martin’s later acrylic grids on canvas. The catalog record supports watercolor as a separate medium in her work rather than a presumed ingredient in the thin color of her mature paintings.
Sources: MoMA: Untitled #1 (1981), acrylic, gesso, and pencil, Guggenheim: Little Sister (1962), oil and ink with brass nails, and MoMA: Untitled (1952), watercolor and ink.
Painting surfaces used by Agnes Martin
Martin used prepared canvas for later acrylic grids and paper for earlier watercolor studies; these examples tie the distinct supports to documented works.
-
Canvas
Martin’s large later grids were made on prepared canvas. MoMA records Untitled #1 (1981) as gesso, acrylic, and pencil on canvas; the support carries thin, subdued color bands and the ruled lines that structure them. This is materially distinct from the sheet support she used for watercolor and ink works.
-
Paper
MoMA catalogs Martin’s Untitled (1952) as watercolor and ink on paper. The sheet supports a separate early practice in which transparent washes and linear drawing work together, unlike the prepared canvases used for her later acrylic grids. Keeping paper distinct helps show that her use of it was tied to specific works and media.
Sources: MoMA: Untitled #1 (acrylic, gesso, pencil), MoMA: Untitled (1952 watercolor), Guggenheim: Little Sister (oil and ink), Guggenheim: Martin and Minimalism, Smithsonian: Agnes Martin.
Painters similar to Agnes Martin
Baer and Ryman shared Martin's interest in restrained surfaces but used different optical strategies; Newman and Rothko offer parallels in abstract color.
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko was an American abstract painter known for large canvases of softly edged color fields and for the emotional impact of his paintings.
Jo Baer
Jo Baer was an American painter known for Minimalist canvases with narrow color bands at the edges, then later figurative imagery in her work.
Robert Ryman
Robert Ryman was an American painter who explored white paint on varied supports, making brushstrokes, surfaces, and mounting hardware visible in works.