Tobey, << TOH bee, >> Mark (1890-1976), was an American artist who painted elaborate linear abstract pictures, often on a small scale. Tobey’s delicately colored compositions have dense patterns of lines and small symbols. They have been compared to calligraphy (the art of fine handwriting). Tobey described his style as white writing. He developed his calligraphic style after a trip to Asia in the 1930’s. He maintained that his work reflected his view of a unified universe and its pulsating rhythms. Later he ordered his images into highly complex groupings of tiny forms. Tobey’s paintings were admired by Europeans, who saw in them an American blend of Eastern and Western styles. Tobey was born on Dec. 11, 1890, in Centerville, Wisconsin. He died on April 24, 1976.
