Retreat of a Friend
1947
Mark Tobey
American, 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 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)
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
