NEHMA | Collection

Margaret Tomkins

American
(1916–2002)

Untitled
1951

Tempera on paper
11.5 x 18 in.
Gift of the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation
2006.37

Tomkins was inspired by European avant-garde artists whose artwork was displayed in the United States. Her early work was particularly influenced by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, and Tomkins quickly became identified as a Surrealist. Tomkins’ paintings focused on communicating social and environmental problems through muted colors and organic forms. In 1958, most of Tomkins’ and her husband’s work was destroyed by a fire in their Seattle studio. The loss of her work inspired Tomkins to take a new approach to artmaking and she began painting primarily abstract works that focused on themes of transformation and metamorphosis.

Keywords
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This object has the following keywords:

biomorphic, brown, geometric abstraction, grey, pink, tan, white

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Women, Surrealism, and Abstraction , 8/25/2020 - 7/9/2022

Also found in

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This object is a member of the following portfolios:

San Francisco: The Golden Years, 1930-1960

Women, Surrealism & Abstraction

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Margaret Tomkins