Agnes Martin: Painter, Pioneer, Icon

by Henry Martin

This is an intimate and revealing biography of Agnes Martin, renowned American painter, considered one of the great women artists of the 20th and 21st Century. A resident of both New Mexico and New York City, Martin has always remained an enigma due to her fiercely guarded private life. Henry Martin (no relation to the artist), a writer, editor and actor, having access to those who were close to Agnes Martin--friends, family, former lovers,— has given us a full portrait of this universally revered artist. Readers will learn of her bouts with mental illness, her several significant lesbian relationships, and her lifelong yearning for recognition despite her reclusive lifestyle and need for privacy. Arriving in the wake of major international retrospective exhibitions of her work from London's Tate Modern, LACMA in Los Angeles, and the Guggenheim in New York City, this book will provide a perspective of Agnes Martin that has not been seen in earlier, more academic works or fine-art monographs. Certain to be a mainstay for readers of the arts, and admirers of the creative spirit. This book will also include rare photographs from family and friends, some of which have never appeared in a book before.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Art History, LGBT

372 pages, Paperback

Published February 12, 2018

About the author

Henry Martin is an award-winning Irish writer and art scholar. 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 about art and books for Soho House and Phaidon Press. He is narrator of the documentary 'Agnes Martin Before The Grid' (2016), his book 'Yappo' is published by Company Cod (2017), and his play 'The Cost of Your Forgetting' is published in 'Tiny Plays For Ireland', New Island Books, 2013.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this artist prior to reading Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, which is chock full of those in art and literature. I just had to read a more in-depth studying her life. Born in Canada, of a rather stern and cold mother, she learns early to become comfortable with isolation. She studies in New York, at Columbia, and actually disappears from the art scene for quite a while, resurfacing in New Mexico.She hd several relationships with some but would remain in the proverbial closet. Those as the bare bones of her story.

The fascinating aspect of her life are the artists she met and admired. Jasper Johns, Rothko and many others. She was also schizophrenic and would spend several yeArs in mental institutions. Like so many if our creative geniuses, she struggled to separate life from art. She was constantly hearing voices, but they did not tell her how or what to paint. She did use her feelings from the voices in putting paint to paper. A very unusual artist, she used grids and later lines. Her paintings, like her life, are different and unusual, but are highly regarded with monetary value.

I'm posting a link to the MOMA site, if you are interested in her art. You can wander around the site and see many of her works. I can't help but admire these artists that live with or overcome so many obstacles, but are successful nonetheless.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched book about the painter Agnes Martin. Her life was very difficult, fraught with mental illness, poverty and self-imposed loneliness. At times she even dumpster dove to get enough to eat. Despite hardships she left an amazing artistic legacy.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
Fascinating look at the life of Agnes Martin. Too bad that this copy did not have the illustrations but that is what Google is for.

[Johanna DeBiase · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the biography, Agnes Martin: Pioneer, Painter, Icon, award-winning Irish author, Henry Martin (no relation) seeks to get at the heart of an elusive woman who self-identified as many roles but rarely as artist. Martin theorizes that Agnes’s identity was often wrapped up in those around her and so, many chapters represent a person in Agnes’s life, often a lover, and contains never-before-published interviews with family, friends and curators. This book offers an extensive view of Agnes’s life and the context for who she was, including her early years, which until recently baffled many scholars. Readers can discover how the art movements of her time framed her creative experience, as well as how the people she associated with influenced her. Despite all that is written about her romantic life, the Agnes in this biography shapes up to be more ambitious than passionate. The book can often be unimaginative, lacking sensual details that you would expect from an artist. Instead, the reader discovers intellectualized versions of her inspiration.

[Gareth Schweitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and illuminating read.

Whilst not a lot of it is devoted to her working methods and there are no colour images, one comes away with a strong sense of her personality and motivations, which brings depth and subtlety to thinking about and viewing her work.

And really makes me want to see more of her work!

[Jini Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you are not a fan of abstract art, this book will enlighten the reader on an important American Art movement and a woman who devoted her life to her ART. It gives the reader insight into the art world in New York , and the Southwest during a time that new, Uniquely American art forms were being explored. Not everyone was receptive to these artists.
AS a woman, and one with mental illness, Agnes faced additional challenges to become successful. How she handled her personal challenges, to become one of America's most praised and admired, is an amazing story.
I spent time with my computer, looking at the paintings online , that are referenced in the book. Unfortunately, the book contains no pictures, but I don'r think small reproductions would capture the
essence of her work. Better to see them enlarged on the Computer screen. Best if you have ever seen them in person. Or rather experience them.
the author has found a way to allow us to get to know Agnes on an intimate level, listening to her own words , and hearing her struggle with her own demons , but ultimately finding happiness through her paintings .

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agnes Martin is a fascinating and intense figure, and this biography captures her so evocatively. The author succeeded in balancing her iconic status with her personal struggles. There’s a ton of 20th century American art history woven into Agnes’s life and therefore included in this book, and Martin (the author, no relation) excels at offering just enough detail that such context feels organic to the text. Martin never obfuscates the more challenging aspects of Agnes’s schizophrenia, while still avoiding any hint of romanticizing it — another balancing act, given our society’s tendency to lionize artistic madness. And, I loved that the author let this also be a book about the people who surrounded Agnes Martin, and those who dipped in and out of her life.
I’m going to miss this book.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am clearly not an Agnes Martin scholar. However, I have read in several places that she did not see herself as a woman and she said Jill Johnston labelling her a lesbian was not true. I would have hoped that the author could have refrained from labelling her bisexual in the prologue, which I find it hard to believe that she ever used as a way to define herself. Why is it so important that we label her in a way that she did not label herself? This aside, I enjoyed this biography more than Princenthal's biography. The author dug more deeply into her personal relationships.

[Eileen M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of unknown artist to me

I was not familiar with Agnes Martin and I cannot understand why. Henry Martin did a terrific job describing her many characteristics - the good and the frustrating (for many people in her life). Her art work is so interesting and subtle. I highly recommend this book to others who may not have been exposed to her story and to those who have but might be interested in a different point of view.

[Pippa Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had wanted to learn more about this interesting artist for some time, and this biography was excellent in presenting a full and many faceted picture of her. It held a number of surprises, and left me feeling full of respect for how very hard she had to work to create her work, as well as for what she endured before she was recognized.

[Audrey Peebles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for any Agnes Martin admirer. The writing style flows well and does not have that academic stiffness that sometimes a biographies. Her life has been so well researched that is seems as though the author knew her (he did not).

Would have been enhanced with more “life and times” photos that were referenced but not shown throughout the book.

[Ellen Jantzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

Even though I live in New Mexico, I never fully understood it's significance in the art world. This book was enlightening about Agnes Martin's life and art