White Flower I

Martin's distinctive painting technique persisted with subtle variations throughout her life. Working on a six-foot square canvas covered in white gesso, she applied finely rendered pencil lines in groups, sometimes arrayed in a grid. Later she used subtle washes of colour to fill the spaces between parallel lines. This work relates to a pair of early paintings, both titled "White Flower," from 1960. Uncomfortable being associated with minimalism – which she found austere and cerebral – and resolutely independent of prevailing styles in art, Martin nevertheless influenced many of her peers. Sol LeWitt’s "wall drawings" – an example can be seen in gallery B105 – owe much to Martin’s work.