Knox Martin, Bicycle, 1979

Description

This artwork titled "Bicycle" 1979 is an original color lithograph by Colombian/American artist Knox Martin, b.1923. It is hand signed … more This artwork titled "Bicycle" 1979 is an original color lithograph by Colombian/American artist Knox Martin, b.1923. It is hand signed and numbered 199/300 in pencil by the artist. The image size is 30.35 x 12.35 inches, sheet size is 35.5 x 21.15 inches, It is in excellent condition, it has a small reference tag in the back. The colors are fresh and bright, has never been framed.

About the artist:

New York School artist Knox Martin was born in Barranquilla, Colombia to an American aviator father - the first man to ever pilot an aircraft over the Andes - and a Colombian mother.

His family moved to Salem, Virginia and later to New York City when he was 5 years old.

Knox Martin served in the Coast Guard in WWII on a sub-chaser, part of a rescue flotilla at Omaha Beach in Normandy. He attended The Art Students League of New York from 1946 to 1950 under the GI Bill. At the League he studied with Harry Sternberg, Vaclav Vytlacil, Will Barnet and Morris Kantor. There he met fellow students Susan Weil, Cy Twombly, and Al Held and was a mentor to Robert Rauschenberg.

In 1954, at Franz Kline’s recommendation, Knox Martin’s work was included in the Stable Gallery annual exhibition. Charles Egan saw the work and invited him to have his first solo exhibition at the Charles Egan Gallery.

His prevalent theme is woman. Vivien Raynor wrote in the New York Times: “The artist is best known for his repertory of signs and symbols that allude to nature and, in particular, to the female form. Flatly and freely painted in Pop colors, they have often been executed on a grand scale...” (1)

A renowned muralist, one of his best-known works in New York City is a 12-story wall painting, Venus, on the wall of Bayview Women’s Correctional Facility on West 19th Street. Venus was commissioned in 1970 by Doris Freedman of CityWalls and restored in 1998 with the support of the Public Art Fund.
Knox Martin has received numerous grants and awards, including an NEA Grant, two Pollock-Krasner Grants, Gottlieb Grant, CAPS Grant, Longview Fellowship (3 purchase awards) and the Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal.

He taught at Yale Graduate School of the Arts, first as visiting critic in art, and then as Professor of Art. He also taught at New York University, the University of Minnesota, Fort Rajgat, India, and the International School of Art in Umbria, Italy. For over 45 years he taught a legendary Master Class at the Art Students League of New York.

His work is in the following public collections and museums:

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; New York University Collection, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; National Academy of Design, New York; The Art Students League of New York; National Arts Club, New York; Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, New York; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York; Hofstra University Museum, Hempstead, New York; New York State Museum, New York; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts; Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Texas; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, California; Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas; Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Maryland; Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado; Hand Art Center, Stetson University, Deland, Florida; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, Texas; Katzen Art Center (Corcoran Legacy Collection), American University, Washington, DC; Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Florida; Miami-Dade Art in Public Places Collection, Florida; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas; Newark Museum, New Jersey; Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon; Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts; Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania; Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, Pennsylvania; Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, Missouri; Tougaloo College, Mississippi; University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, Kentucky; University of Lethbridge Art Collection, Alberta, Canada; Weatherspoon Art Museum, North Carolina; William Benton Museum of Art, Connecticut; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France; Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary.

Knox Martin is a member of the National Academy of Design.

In 2016 he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his contribution to the liberation of France during World War II.Continue Reading less