© Jennifer Uhrhane

According to her family, surprisingly Mark had just one solo show.1 Libbie Mark: Paintings and Collages opened on May 15, 1962 at Knapik Gallery, located at 1470 First Avenue in New York City (figs. 1 and 2). The exhibition closed on June 9, extended from its original end date of June 2.2 The exhibition is chronicled in brochures, clippings, reviews, photographs, and a price list.3
Knapik Gallery Exhibition announcement (detail)

Fig. 1. Knapik Gallery Exhibition announcement (detail), Libbie Mark: Paintings and Collages, May 16–June 2, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM-014. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection.

Fig. 2. Knapik Gallery Exhibition announcement (detail), Libbie Mark: Paintings and Collages, May 16–June 2, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM-015. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection.

Fig. 3. Knapik Gallery exhibition checklist, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM–028. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection.

Mark exhibited at least thirty-three pieces in her Knapik show according to the surviving price list (fig. 3). Nathan Rabin (d. 2010), who photographed extensively for artists and collectors, such as William N. Copley, Lucien Goldschmidt, Claes Oldenburg, and Serge Sabarsky,4 documented Mark surrounded by her paintings, presumably at the gallery. These photographs have been especially helpful in determining that eleven works held in the Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund collection were included in this exhibit. Rabin’s photograph in fig. 4 depicts nine of these paintings as well as two unidentified works. The known paintings are shown in figs. 5–13.

Fig. 4. Nathan Rabin, Libbie Mark at Knapik Gallery, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM–019. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection. ©Nathan Rabin Archive, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.

Fig. 5. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #12, 1962. Acrylic and paper collage on paper, mounted on masonite, 10 1/8 x 12 in. Inv. no. 09R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 6. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #10, ca. 1962. Acrylic polymer latex on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 12 1/4 x 12 in. Inv. no. 06M. Private Collection.

Collage Painting #8, 1961, by Libbie Mark

Fig. 7. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #8, 1961. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 12 x 9 5/8 in. Inv. no. 36JM. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #22, 1962, by Libbie Mark

Fig. 8. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #22, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 12 x 18 in. Inv. no. 24JM. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 9. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #9, 1961. Acrylic polymer latex, paper and cardboard collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 10 3/8 x 11 in. Inv. no. 10R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 10. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #31, ca. 1962. Acrylic polymer latex on paper, varnished and mounted on plywood, 12 x 15 5/8 in. Inv. no. 07R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 11. Libbie Mark, #41, 1962

Fig. 11. Libbie Mark, #41, 1962. Oil on canvas, 36 x 20 in. Inv. no. 02R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #35, 1961, #02J

Fig. 12. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #35, 1961. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, mounted on linen, mounted on masonite, 24 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. Inv. no. 02J. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #37, ca. 1962, by Libbie Mark

Fig. 13. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #37, ca. 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, mounted on linen, mounted on masonite, 30 x 24 in. Inv. no. 23R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

A second Rabin photograph (fig. 14) shows two additional known works, located above Mark (fig. 15), and to the right (fig. 16).

Fig. 14. Nathan Rabin, Libbie Mark at Knapik Gallery, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM–024. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection. ©Nathan Rabin Archive, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.


#42, Libbie Mark, 1962

Fig. 15. Libbie Mark, #42, 1962. Oil on canvas, 40 x 26 in. Inv. no. 16J. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.


Collage Painting #32, 1962, by Libbie Mark

Fig. 16. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #32, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on canvas, 24 1/4 x 30 in. Inv. no. 38JM. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

However, thirteen additional paintings in the Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection, not recorded in the photographs, match the price list descriptions or have intact original gallery number labels (see figs. 17–29).
Collage Painting #6, 1961, by Libbie Mark

Fig. 17. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #6, 1961. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, mounted on composition board, 18 x 24 in. Inv. no. 47JM. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 18. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #7, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 9 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. Inv. no. 11R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 19. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #16, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 18 x 11 in. Inv. no. 10J. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 20. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #20, 1961. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 10 3/8 x 16 1/2 in. Inv. no. 08R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #23, Libbie Mark, 1962

Fig. 21. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #23, 1962; acrylic polymer latex, paper, string, and other mixed media collage on paper, varnished and mounted on Masonite; 11 7/8 x 17 7/8 in.; Inv. no. 34JM; Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 22. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #28, 1960. Casein and paper collage on composition board, 18 x 24 in. Inv. no. 05R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Fig. 23. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #33, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on canvas, 30 1/4 x 20 in. Inv. no. 01R. Private Collection.

Fig. 24. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #38, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex on masonite, 16 x 24 in. Inv. no. 09M. Private Collection.

#39, 1960s, by Libble Mark

Fig. 25. Libbie Mark, #39, 1958 or later. Oil on canvas, 14 1/8 x 10 in. Inv. no. 22JM. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.


Collage Painting #40, Libbie Mark, 1962

Fig. 26. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #40, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 9 5/8 x 16 1/2 in. Inv. no. 20J. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #15, Libbie Mark, 1962

Fig. 27. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #15, 1962. Acrylic polymer latex and paper collage on paper, varnished and mounted on masonite, 14 3/4 x 11 1/4 in. Inv. no. 26R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Collage Painting #1, Libbie Mark, 1957

Fig. 28. Libbie Mark, Collage Painting #1, 1957. Acrylic, crepe paper, and fabric collage on paper mounted on linen, 26 1/8 x 12 in. Inv. no. 15R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

#4, Libbie Mark, 1957

Fig. 29. Libbie Mark, #4, 1957. Oil on linen, 24 x 48 in. Inv. no. 33R. Courtesy Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund.

Mark received a number of positive reviews of her painting show:

Libbie Mark shows small to medium oils with paper collage elements. One is a high-toned noonday picture dominated by a central red that tornadoes up into yellow, surrounded by green and blue-grey. Another abstraction has a midnight carnival flavor in its deep purples and blues sparked with red and surprises of veiny greens.
–Jill Johnston, ARTnews5

Libbie Mark’s colorful paintings and collages have no titles, so you play a numbers game, and two good bets are 19 and 20 – a green-grey moody “landscape” and a red-blue Oriental “garden.” (fig. 19). Amidst “just more” abstract expressionist paintings, many semi-abstract gems sparkle.
–L. E. Levick, New York Journal-American6

This first one-woman exhibition is of educated non-objective oils and collages.
–John Gruen, New York Herald Tribune7

An exhibit of oil paintings and collages by Libbie Mark is on display at the Knapik Gallery through June 2. Miss Mark’s handsome abstractions, high textured and rich in color brilliance, show a profound and vividly sensuous response to visual experience. Areas of Prussian and Cerulean blue offset deep purples and wine reds. Chromatic variations of reds and pinks interweave, revealing minor color shocks and the mottled texture of dulled silver foil. In one semi-abstract flower still-life, color diffuses in small bright dabs, but the overall effect is scintillating. Considering the technique used in many of these collages, Miss Mark’s spontaneity is all the more remarkable. With a foundation of acrylic paint, varied types of tissue-thin paper are glued onto a gessoed masonite board to form interesting transparencies of color and texture. These paintings are assuredly the work of a mature, imaginative, and dynamic artist.
–Jane Jaffe, Manhattan East8

Libbie Mark lets herself be taken by the moment, seduced by the creative space that it gives her permission to inhabit.
This is why we find a bit of everything in her abstract compositions, which are alternately dark and joyful. Together, the works enliven the little gallery with a healthy dose of artistic energy.
Her collages, too, are at once remarkable and discreet, where she succeeds in merging and marrying dissimilarities in ways that subtly denote that she is both a person of taste and an artist in love with her chosen profession.
–Saint-Evremond, France-Amérique9 (translated)

Ernest F. Manfred also departed from his gallery visit with a positive opinion of Mark’s exhibition. An autograph collector, he sent a letter to Mark requesting hers (fig. 30).
Letter from Ernest F. Manfred to Libbie Mark, May 30, 1962

Fig. 30. Letter from Ernest F. Manfred to Libbie Mark, May 30, 1962. Inv. no. ARCHJM–032. Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection.

His letter reads:

Dear Mrs. Mark,
As an admirer of your art I shall treasure an autograph of you [sic]. You will make me happy in sending it to me.
I am
Very sincerely yours,
Ernest F. Manfred

Mark had quite varied company. Other autographs Manfred sought and collected included those from a wide range of personalities: musicians Liberace10 and Chuck Mangione,11 as well as French Army General Jean-Marie de Lattre de Tassigny12 and the Governor of South Carolina James F. Byrnes.13

In the early 1960s, Knapik Gallery exhibited at least three other artists who were Mark’s associates in the Vectors artists group: Sidney Delevante (1961),14 Irving Lehman (1961),15 and Ben Wilson (1962).16 Perhaps she joined the Vectors in late 1962—current best estimate—due to this gallery connection. Mark’s involvement with this group provided important continued exposure following her solo show at Knapik Gallery. To read about other exhibitions Mark participated in and this artist group, please visit the Vectors Artist Group Feature page.

Endnotes

1. All of the information about Mark, unless otherwise cited, was provided by Mark’s daughter and son, and obtained through e-mail messages to and phone conversations with the author between June 2016 and March 2019.

2. Knapik Gallery advertisement, New York Times, May 27, 1962, X19.

3. Archival materials for the artist are held by the Libbie Mark Provincetown Fund Collection.

4. Lisa Coldiron, Image Specialist for Special Projects, Image Collections, National Gallery of Art, e-mail message to author, February 25, 2019. The National Gallery of Art Library’s Image Collections contain 27,000 negatives and 1,300 photographs by Rabin. “Featured Photographers: Nathan Rabin,” National Gallery of Art, accessed January 30, 2019, https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/photographers-and-campaign-organizers.html

5. J. J. (Jill Johnston), “Reviews and previews: New names this month,” ARTnews 61 (May 1962): 18.

6. L. E. Levick, “Gallery Guide,” New York Journal-American, May 19, 1962, 7.

7. John Gruen, “Art Tour,” New York Herald Tribune, May 19, 1962, 11.

8. Jane Jaffe, “News and Views of the Galleries: Mark at Knapik,” Manhattan East, May 24, 1962, 4.

9. Saint-Evremond, “Libbie Mark chez Knapik,” France-Amérique, June 17, 1962, 15.

10. “Liberace – Inscribed Picture Postcard Signed,” History for Sale, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.historyforsale.com/liberace-inscribed-picture-postcard-signed/dc76352.

11. “Mangione, Chuck. Photograph signed,” James Cummins Bookseller, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/pages/books/256656/chuck-mangione/photograph-signed.

12. “Marshal Jean Delattre – Typed Letter Signed 10/13/1951,” History for Sale, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.historyforsale.com/marshal-jean-delattre-typed-letter-signed-10-13-1951/dc102218.

13. “Associate Justice James F. Byrnes – Typed Letter Signed 11/10/1958,” History for Sale, accessed July 30, 2020, https://www.historyforsale.com/associate-justice-james-f-byrnes-typed-letter-signed-11-10-1958/dc84845.

14. Artist resume, Sidney Delevante Art and Artist Files, Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library, Smithsonian Libraries, Washington, DC.

15. Artist resume, Irving Lehman Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries.

16. “Exhibitions,” Ben Wilson American Artist, accessed January 19, 2018, https://benwilsonamericanartist.org/exhibitions/.

Jennifer Uhrhane has worked in curatorial, collections management, and registrarial roles in museum, corporate and private art collections for almost 20 years. She also consults with artists and families regarding art collection/archive documentation, management and estate planning. Uhrhane holds a BFA in photography from Rhode Island School of Design, a Certificate in Museum Studies and Administration from Tufts University, and an MA in Art History from Boston University.