Artist Profile
Martin’s unique vision began with a wingback chair he created for a Bucks County (PA) show in the ’80s; enthusiastic response led to the distinctive work that has become his signature style, a style that defies art world labels. Martin, who studied in Italy, paints as a classic realist—landscapes and still lifes of another age can be glimpsed in his work—and yet some might describe the work as surreal, but the absence of menace makes his a genre unto itself.
Martin credits his “discovery” to the late Gene Moore of Tiffany & Company. Moore, called the “father of modern window display,” invited Martin to display his work in the luxury brand’s Fifth Avenue flagship in 1992 – an invitation extended to Martin twice more by Tiffany.
In 2000, Martin was commissioned by the venerable Steinway & Sons to paint an actual one-of-a-kind baby grand piano, the first painter in nearly 70 years commissioned by the piano makers. Following a nationwide tour, the “Summertime Piano” is now part of a private collection in Texas. (See Summertime Piano under Special Projects.)
Embraced by the horticultural community, Martin was invited to exhibit at Atlanta’s Southeastern Flower Show, at the Lewis Ginter Gardens in Richmond, Virginia and at Omaha’s Lauritzen Botanical Gardens. Martin’s work was also featured in 1988 by Macy’s Flower Show on Herald Square in New York City, where his painting Daffodil Settee made its premiere, later named Editor’s Choice by U.S. Art magazine.
From March through July 2009, Timothy Martin’s original paintings were on exhibition at the Mona Bismarck Foundation in a one-man show across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. (Created in the 1980s by the American philanthropist, Countess Mona Bismarck, the Foundation was centered on the late Countess’ tastes and interests.) Martin’s exhibition, The Naturalist: paintings by Timothy Martin, is one of the few the foundation devoted to a living artist, and broke Foundation attendance records. (The show catalog is for sale under Exhibition Catalog.)
During the 2010-2011 holiday season, Timothy Martin paintings brought the holidays to Paris. Commissioned by the global luxury fashion house, Hermès, Martin created a 10-foot by 15-foot original oil painting — L’Arche de Nöel — for Hermès main window of its flagship store on the rue Faubourg Saint- Honoré. (See the piece under Posters.) Hermès’ other nine windows also featured Timothy Martin paintings. L’Arche de Nöel remains in the Hermès family collection.
Timothy Martin’s images have been licensed by The Bombay Company, Caspari International and a number of fine art publishers. Martin 1994-1995 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship grantee. Originals of Timothy Martin’s work now adorn collectors’ homes from coast-to-coast as well as in France, The United Kingdom and the Middle East.
