Retreat of a Friend

Date1947

Maker Mark Tobey American, born Centerville, Wisconsin, 1890; died Basel, Switzerland, 1976

Label TextOn 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.

Object number2009.52.110

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

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.

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

Dimensions10 1/2 x 14 7/8 in. (26.7 x 37.8 cm) Frame: 17 7/8 x 21 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (45.4 x 55.2 x 3.8 cm)

MediumOpaque watercolor on paper mounted on paperboard