Martin, Agnes

(born March 22, 1912, Macklin, Sask., Can.—died Dec. 16, 2004, Taos, N.M., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. painter. She moved to the U.S. in 1931 and became a U.S. citizen in 1950. She studied at Columbia University and taught at the University of New Mexico. In 1958 she had her first solo exhibition. Martin was a prominent exponent of geometric abstraction, and, for her, a gray grid of intersecting penciled lines became the ultimate geometric composition. Her gridlike abstractions were also noted for their light-soaked appearance and quiet effect. In the 1970s she produced printed equivalents of her paintings; a notable series of silkscreens, On a Clear Day (1973), was produced after her mathematically annotated sketches. Martin was one of the leading practitioners of Abstract Expressionism in the 20th century.

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