Agnes Martin: Pioneer, Painter, Icon
Category: Books,Biographies & Memoirs,Arts & Literature
Agnes Martin: Pioneer, Painter, Icon Details
Review “Something genuinely rare … an extraordinarily vivid and intimate portrait of one of the most enigmatic personalities of postwar US art – a portrait that is as eloquent as it is gratifying…” Klaus Ottmann, The Art Newspaper "In this revelatory account of the artist’s personal life ... Henry Martin offers readers an intimate look at the life and work of this ambitious figure." Amber C. Snider Culture Trip“No other book on Agnes Martin has been researched as thoroughly and honestly as Agnes Martin: Pioneer, Painter, Icon. Its sensitive and poetic nature makes it a must read for those truly interested in understanding the artist.” —Jina Brenneman, Curator, "Agnes Martin: Before The Grid", Harwood Museum, 2012"Rich, clear, detailed, and wide-ranging, I enjoyed Agnes Martin: Pioneer, Painter, Icon greatly." —Lee Hall, author, Betty Parsons: Artist, Dealer, Collector"A well-researched book about an intriguing and influential figure." Jeff Fleischer, Foreward Reviews"[This] new book beautifully illuminates the challenges of lesbian relationships at a time when women could never exist publicly as a unit..." Out Magazine"Including never-before-published interviews with family, friends and curators, a comprehensive and revealing new biography of the US artist regarded as one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century." The Bookseller"A heartfelt examination of the enigmatic artist, thoughtfully tying together the complex person and her abstract, singular art ... the book admirably places Agnes’ powerful personality, complex sexuality, towering ambition, and difficult relationships in a shifting context of environment and time ... Fans of Agnes will have their understanding of the artist and her work pleasurably expanded, and for those who felt a distance from her paintings or are unfamiliar with them, Martin tells a story that’s hard to resist drawing you into the nearest museum ..." Torin Jensen, Atticus Review"[Martin's] thorough research and poetic prose bring to light the struggles Agnes faced in order to find success as an artist and some semblance of peace in her life." Powells Books "Martin traces the life of pioneering painter Agnes Martin from a tomboyish introvert growing up in rural Saskatchewan Canada in the 1920s to a world-renowned abstract expressionist." —Publishers Weekly"One of the most acclaimed painters of the 20th Century, Agnes Martin was also a reclusive lesbian who had complicated relationships with women, gender, and the schizophrenia that both inspired and threatened her creativity. This new biography explores those issues and delves into the decade Martin spent as part of a queer arts community." Jacob Anderson-Minshall, The Advocate"Fascinating revelations about Martin’s early life in Canada." Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail Read more About the Author Henry Martin is an award-winning Irish writer. His plays have featured at Project Arts Centre, Roundhouse, Underbelly, Arcola, Theatre503, and Belltable; his fiction and poetry is published in Ireland, Mexico, USA and UK; and he has written on art and books for Soho House and Phaidon Press, where he worked in editorial and rights. He has a BA in English and Philosophy from the National University of Ireland, Galway, an MA in Playwriting from Royal Holloway, University of London, and he is pursuing an MA(Res) in art history at the University of Buckingham and the National Gallery, London, with a Tavolozza Foundation Scholarship. His limited edition book Yappo (2017) received a Tipperary Artists Award, and funding from the University for the Creative Arts, London. Henry is an Emily Harvey Foundation resident, and was researcher on, and narrator of, the award-winning documentary Agnes Martin Before The Grid (2016). www.henry-martin.co.uk Read more
Reviews
Edited review: This book was my first read about Agnes Martin & I have nothing to compare it to. I found it a bit of a mixed bag. Often a very dry read to get through but then some very interesting moments. Don’t know if it’s style or difficultly with the subject who was intensely private & a bit insane.At times I was frustrated with paragraphs that were combination of poor knowledge & research of history and or some basic scholarship. For instance, in the first paragraph of Chapter 8, the author states “Enabled by the G.I. Bill, 50% of the U.S. population was college-educated, a success since unmatched.” I don’t know where these stats are from but a simple Google search brings up multiple sites with educational statistics showing that # was below 10%.While discussing the McCarthy era, the author appears to be oblivious to the influence of Anti-Semitism on McCarthy’s witch hunt. Brings up the era but doesn’t really provide adequate context and just gets off the topic.Other times you can clearly see how much work went into building a context (the other artists that had moved to NM, the culture, etc) in which to view this artist.
