Knox Martin
American (1923-2022)
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1923, Knox Martin moved with his family to New York City in 1927. He attended The Art Students League of New York from 1946 to 1950 under the GI Bill. At the League he studied with Harry Sternberg, Vaclav Vytlacil, Will Barnet and Morris Kantor. There he met fellow students Susan Weil, Cy Twombly, and Al Held and was a mentor to Robert Rauschenberg. In 1954, at Franz Kline’s recommendation, Martin’s work was included in the Stable Gallery annual exhibition. Charles Egan saw the work and invited him to have his first solo exhibition at the Charles Egan Gallery.
Martin had numerous solo exhibitions across the United States and abroad, including in France, England, Switzerland, Canada, Spain and Germany. His work was also included in significant group exhibitions, such as Some Paintings to Consider (Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California, 1964), Concrete Expressionism (New York University, New York, 1965), Large Scale American Paintings (Jewish Museum, New York, 1967), and the Whitney Annual (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1967 and 1972). Knox Martin received numerous grants and awards, including an NEA Grant, two Pollock-Krasner Grants, Gottlieb Grant, CAPS Grant, Longview Fellowship and the Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal.
Martin’s work is held in over 40 museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Hirshhorn Museum, as well as in private collections worldwide.
