Agnes Martin (1912–2004) was an American abstract painter known for her minimalist style and abstract expressionism
-
A student of Buddhism, she saw art as a practice of presence
-
Born in Canada (1912), but made her home in the deserts of New Mexico
-
Withdrew from the New York art scene in 1967 to live in solitude
-
Believed art shold be about feeling, not intellect
-
Her paintings—meditative gris, luminous washes—capture stillness
-
Lived a deeply ascetic life, rejecting distraction in favor of focus
- Saw simplicity as a path to clarity, freedom, and deep creative rest
Agnes Martin on the rooftop of her New York studio with Ellsworth Kelly (left) and Jack Youngerman.