Agnes Martin was born in 1912 in Maklin, Saskatchewan, Canada. She grew up in Vancouver and moved to the United States in 1932. In 1942, Martin received her B.S. degree at Teacher's College, Columbia University, New York. In 1946, she began to study at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, where she began teaching one year later. From 1947 to 1953 Martin taught in New Mexico, Oregon, and Delaware. She obtained her United States citizenship in 1950 and settled in New York City in 1957.

By 1967 Martin had established a firm reputation for monochromatic, usually gray, paintings based on the grid system. Her work was often grouped with Minimalist artists.

Martin stopped painting in 1967 and moved to New Mexico where she built her adobe house with her own hands. She began painting again in 1974.

Source: News, November/December 1992.

“When I think of art, I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye it is in the mind. In our minds there is an awareness of perfection.” This statement is Agnes Martin’s definition of art, and a revealing statement about the intent of her paintings. All of her work is non-representational, and has no narrative or political content. Instead, she uses subtle color washes and the rhythmic pattern of the grid to inspire contemplation in the viewer.

Martin’s work is often compared to Zen Buddhism, in which one must attempt to achieve perfection by discarding material possessions, earthly desire, and individual thought. Similarly, Martin’s work, simplified to a hermetic grid, restrained color, and confined to a perfect square shape, is an attempt to rid her art of all stylistic and intellectual convention. The imperfect pencil lines and visible brushstrokes she leaves on the canvas are reminders that perfection is only possible in the mind. Nature is also an important influence in Martin’s work, and childhood memories of the expansive Canadian province of Saskatchewan and her home in Taos, New Mexico have been seen as inspirations for the open spaces in her paintings.