Agnes Martin

Betty Parsons Gallery, New York
John Gordon, Palm Beach
Pace Gallery, New York
Private Collection, New York
Sotheby's, New York, May 17, 2000, Lot 60
Private Collection, Korea
Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco
Vivian Horan Fine Arts, New York

Philadelphia, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Agnes Martin, January - March 1973, p. 11, illustrated
New York, Whitney Museum of Art; Milwaukee Art Museum; Miami, Center for Fine Arts; Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum; Madrid, Museo Naçional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Agnes Martin, November 1992 - January 1994, p. 127, illustrated

This work is in good condition apart from the general darkening of the sheet with age as visible in the catlogue illustration. The work is comprised of two sheets of paper laid down on canvas. The strainer bars have slightly darkened the edges of the paper over time. Thin strips of Mylar have been placed between the strainer and the canvas to arrest any further darkening. In the upper right hand corner, some of the adhesive used in the mounting has also darkened the paper slightly. Framed under glass, not examined out of the frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

It is commonly thought that everything that is made and done can be put into words.  But there is a wide range of emotional responses that we make that cannot be put into words.  We are so used to making these emotional responses that we are not consciously aware of them till they are represented in art work.
 - Agnes Martin

For Agnes Martin, art is the distillation of beauty, perfection and happiness as they exist in the mind.  Art expresses our awareness of these abstract notions, and artists create images that serve to reawaken our memories.  Martin is a skilled and graceful writer who can employ linguistic metaphors, but, she ultimately distrusts words as an adequate means of conveying abstract and emotional concepts. 

Words, 1961, the schematic configuration of the ink lines is hieroglyphic in effect.  The repetition of the hypnotic lines creates a composition with deep affinities to musical notations.  Words is evocotive of the eternal rhythms of nature, deeply rooted in our psyche, that Martin celebrates. Unable to be adequately put this expression into words, instead captures this within her pictoral vocabulary.