Mark Tobey 1890-1976
Tempera and gouache on paper laminated on board
support: 1135 x 905 mm
frame: 1157 x 930 x 55 mm
on paper, unique
Presented by the American Friends of the Tate Gallery 1961
T00463
After studying calligraphy in China and Japan, Tobey developed a technique of painting with rapid brushstokes, which he called ‘white writing’. Northwest Drift is one of several works that reflect his meditative response to landscape. He wrote: ‘Seattle where I painted this picture is a place of virginal winds, air currents and intermingled seasons... Gray skies, gray water make one conscious of this color and I have used a series of gray tones which seem so indigenous to the locale.’