Retreat of a Friend

1947

born Centerville, Wisconsin, 1890; died Basel, Switzerland, 1976

On rare occasions Tobey used his white line painting to metaphorically pictorialize Baha’i texts. This small painting is from Tobey’s series on the spiritual journey of the Baha’i seeker. The pilgrim travels through “Seven Valleys” or “Seven Cities,” gathering at each step of the way such virtues as patience, the passion of love and devotion, knowledge and piety, divine contentment, appreciation of beauty, and, finally, pure selflessness. At the fourth stage of the journey, the traveler crosses the Valley of Unity and enters
the Retreat of the Friend, in which he is welcomed as an intimate of the Beloved, the Almighty.

Opaque watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard

10 1/2 × 14 7/8 in. (26.7 × 37.8 cm)

Frame: 17 7/8 × 21 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (45.4 × 55.2 × 3.8 cm)

Gift of the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2009.52.110

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryWillard Gallery, 1947.

Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Fine Art, Mar. 20 - Apr. 21, 1968.

Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Museum of Art, 100 Years of Northwest Art: New Perspectives, Nov. 24, 1989 - Feb. 1, 1990.

Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Art Museum, Northwest Mythology: The Interactions of Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Guy Anderson, May 3 - Aug. 10, 2003.

Published ReferencesJunker, Patricia. "The Seattle Art Museum and the Northwest School," A Community of Collectors, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 2008, p. 215, illus. 177.

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