Agnes
Martin

Untitled No.44 (1974) almost doubled its high estimate when it sold at Sotheby's New York in November 2021, at what transpired to be a momentous auction evening for Martin’s work. The work dates from a particularly productive period following her return to painting after a seven-year hiatus - Martin had left New York abruptly in 1967 to travel in a campervan down to Cuba, New Mexico. Untitled No.44 is just one example of Martin’s subsequent exploration of horizontal bands, which occupied her work between 1974 and 2004. The painting’s popularity and success in 2021 are due to its being a symbol of Martin’s new beginning and evidence of her undiminished technical mastery.

Selling at Sotheby's New York in May 2022 as part of the prestigious Macklowe Collection, Early Morning Happiness (2001) represents one of Martin's last major works. Created when she was 89, just three years before her death, the painting demonstrates her unwavering commitment to precision and subtle variation, even in her final years. The colour palette of cornflower blue and pale yellow shows the influence of her New Mexico surroundings, contrasting with the more monochromatic work of her New York years. The piece achieved more than double its high estimate, reflecting both its exceptional provenance and the market's growing interest in later works that show the culmination of her contemplative artistic philosophy.