“What Frank Auerbach did for Camden Town, and Monet did for Paris, and De Chirico did for piazzas all over Italy, Diamond did for Manhattan. None of these artists were bothered with assiduous documentation of the built environment so much as with conveying how it felt to them. . . . Diamond paints the sensation of New York: a place of looming masses, fleeting vistas and overwhelming immersion. It can be a place that in one instant is hard to see and then, the next, is the most recognizable city in the world.”
—Jonathan Griffin, The New York Times, March 2024
Installation view, Skin of the City, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, March 23-April 27, 2024. From left: Highway, 1984; Yellow Sky, 1986; Towers, 1986. Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Martha Diamond: Deep Time, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Conn., Nov. 17–May 18, 2025; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, July 13–October 13
Skin of the City, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, March 22–April 27
2021 Martha Diamond: 1980–1989, Magenta Plains, New York, Jan. 13–Feb. 27
2018 Martha Diamond: Cityscapes, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, New York, June 23–July 27
2017 Martha Diamond: Broad Strokes, Harper’s Gallery, East Hampton, N.Y., July 22–Aug. 15
2016 Martha Diamond: Recent Paintings, Alexandre Gallery, New York, Jan. 7–Feb. 13
2014 Martha Diamond: Paintings, John Davis Gallery, Hudson, N.Y., June 19-July 13
2012 Martha Diamond: Bright Brush Paintings, Sue Scott Gallery, New York, June 20–July 27
2004 Martha Diamond: From Three Decades, New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, Oct. 28–Dec. 18
2003 G Watson Gallery, Stonington, Maine
2001 G Watson Gallery, Stonington, Maine
1994 Martha Diamond: Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, May 24–June 25
1990 Martha Diamond, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, Feb. 6–March 3
1989 Tavelli Gallery, Aspen, Colo.
1988 Martha Diamond, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, March 1–March 26
Martha Diamond: Paintings, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, Jan. 29–March 24.
Martha Diamond: Prints, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine (concurrent exhibitions)
1986 Martha Diamond: Small Oil Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York
1985 Martha Diamond: New Paintings, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
1984 Martha Diamond: Monotypes 1982-1984, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York, March 31–April 21
1983 Martha Diamond: New Paintings, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York, Dec. 8–29
1982 Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
1981 Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
1980 Martha Diamond: Small Paintings, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
1978 Martha Diamond: Paintings, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York, Oct. 3–28
1976 Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
Installation view, Beautiful, Vivid, Self-contained, curated by David Salle, Hill Art Foundation, New York, April 21–July 21, 2023. From left: Martha Diamond, Towers, 1986; Andrea Riccio, Strigil Bearer, c. 1515–20; Willem de Kooning, Untitled I, 1978. Photograph by Matthew Herrmann. Copyright © Hill Art Foundation
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Surface Tension: Etchings from the Collection, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, July 13, 2024–Jan. 12, 2025
Looking Back/The 14th White Columns Annual, selected by Randy Kennedy, White Columns, New York, Jan. 19–March 2
2023 Beautiful, Vivid, Self-contained, exploring affinities between works of art, curated by David Salle, Hill Art Foundation, New York, April 21–July 21
Maine in America 2023: A Celebration of the Alex Katz Foundation, Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine, Feb. 11–Sept. 24
2022 Painting in New York: 1971–83, female painters impacted by feminism’s second wave, curated by Ivy Shapiro, Karma, New York, Sept. 21–Nov. 5
2022 Benefit Auction, The Drawing Center, New York, Sept. 14–28
Painting as Is II, curated by Heidi Hahn and Tim Wilson, Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, June 28–Aug. 26
Artists on the Bowery Part 3, Westwood Gallery, New York, June 25–Aug. 27
2021 On the Bowery, curated by Loren Munk, Zürcher Gallery, New York, November 13–January 30, 2022
2020 Glimpse: Fine Print Selections from Stewart & Stewart 1980–2020, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, Mich., March 6–June 4
In Her Hands: Martha Diamond, Chantal Joffe, and Nicole Wittenberg, three female “painter’s painters,” curated by David Salle, Skarstedt, New York, Jan. 9–Feb. 15
2019 Vanquishing Ocular, curated by David Salle and Nicole Wittenberg, Rental Gallery, East Hampton, N.Y., July 20–Aug. 19
Downtown Painting, artists echoing the spirit of the downtown art scene in the 1950s and ’60s, curated by Alex Katz, Peter Freeman, New York, June 5–July 26
2017 Visionary Painting, artists in dialogue with the work of Marsden Hartley, curated by Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, June 1–Aug. 27
SITE/SIGHT, curated by Ellen Kozak, Cross Contemporary Art, Saugerties, N.Y.
Installation view, Nice Weather, curated by David Salle, Skarstedt, February 25-April 16, 2016. From left: Alex Katz, Marisa, 2016; Martha Diamond, City with Red No. 1, 2004. Courtesy Skarstedt
Installation view, Come Together: Surviving Sandy, curated by Phong Bui, Industry City, Brooklyn, October 20–December 15, 2013. Martha Diamond, Cityscape with Indian Yellow, 1994. Photograph by Brian Buckley
2016 I Beam U Channel, Bortolami Gallery, New York, June 30–Aug. 12
Nice Weather, curated by David Salle, Skarstedt, New York, Feb. 25–April 16
Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City, N.Y., Paint Heads, curated by Charles Marburg
2013 Come Together: Surviving Sandy, Year 1, commemorating the courage and resiliency of the New York art community in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which flooded large areas of the city and left Lower Manhattan without electrical power for days. Curated by Phong Bui; organized by the Brooklyn Rail with the support of the Dedalus Foundation, the Jamestown Charitable Foundation and Industry City Associates. Industry City, Brooklyn, Oct. 20–Dec. 15
2012 Interior Visions: Selections from the Collection by Alex Katz, curated by Alex Katz, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, July 14–Oct. 7
2010 That Is Then. This Is Now. Artists from the 1970s who continue to make important work, curated by Irving Sandler and Robert Storr, CUE Art Foundation, New York, Sept. 9–Oct. 30
Decameron: David Cohen's decade of exhibitions at the New York Studio School, 2000-2010, New York Studio School, Sept. 9–Oct. 10
Changing Soil: Contemporary Landscape Painting (Za Fukei), Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Nagoya, Japan, April 24–Sept. 12
2009 Primitif Compliqué. Works by contemporary painters juxtaposed with those of the Franco-Russian artist Serge Charchoune (1889-1975), curated by Merlin James, Galerie Les filles du calvaire, Brussels, April 3–May 23
2008 Bearden to Ruscha: Contemporary Art from the North Carolina Museum of Art, Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, N.C., May 23–May 24, 2009
2007 Contemporary Art at the Colby College Museum of Art: Gifts from the Alex Katz Foundation, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, July 14–Oct. 28
Cowgirls 2: The Eclectic All-Woman Show, Brik Gallery, Catskill, N.Y.
2005 The Art of Screenprint, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Mich., Aug. 10–Oct. 30
2004 The Anxious Image, The Painting Center, New York, Nov. 2–27
2002 Works on Paper Published by Stewart & Stewart, Smith Andersen Editions, Palo Alto, Cal.
New Spring Faculty, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Series, the Art Gallery, University of New Hampshire, Durham, traveled to the Galleries of Contemporary Art, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
2001 2001 Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
1999 G Watson Gallery, Stonington, Maine
1998 Inventing the American Landscape: A Dialogue with the Visual World, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
1997 Queens Artists: Highlights of the 20th Century, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, N.Y.
Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State, Havana, Cuba
1996 New Faculty, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1995 New Faculty, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Painting Faculty, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Gallery, Cooper Union School of Art
1994 New York, New York, Recent Cityscapes: Paintings by Martha Diamond, Jane Dickson, Yvonne Jacquette, David Kapp, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Oct. 15–Feb. 12, 1995
Red Windows, benefit for the Little Red Schoolhouse sponsored by Barneys and Christie's, Barneys on Seventh Ave, New York
1992 Martha Diamond, Louise Fishman, Mary Heilmann, Harriet Korman, and Bernard Piffaretti: Paintings, Robert Miller Gallery, New York
Urban Realities: Contemporary Portraits of New York, Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn.
Singular and Plural: Recent Accessions, Drawings and Prints 1945-1991, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Emerging New York Artists: An Exhibit from the Collection of Phil Schrader, College of Communication, Fine Arts & Media, University of Nebraska at Omaha
1991 1991 Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
Prints by Martha Diamond and James DeWoody, Mary Ryan Gallery, New York
Inclusion/Exclusion: City Life, Levinson Kane Gallery, Boston, Mass.
Women Artists, Miramar Gallery, Sarasota, Fla.
1990 1990 Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
Some Seventies Works, Robert Miller Gallery, New York
A Little Night Music: Manhattan in the Dark, Lintas Worldwide, New York
Intaglio Printing in the 1980s, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
Installation view, 1989 Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 18-July 16, 1989. On wall, from left: Martha Diamond, Three Lights, 1988; Martha Diamond, Red Light, 1988. On floor: Meg Webster, Earth Stage, 1989. Photograph by Geoffrey Clements, courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art
1989 The 1980s: Prints from the Collection of Joshua P. Smith, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Dec. 17–April 8, 1990
1989 Biennial, curated by Richard Armstrong, John G. Hanhardt, Richard Marshall, and Lisa Phillips, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 18–July 16
Urban Images, Madison Art Center, Madison, Wis.
Landscape, Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago
Two Boliou Alumnae: The Art of Martha Diamond and Donna Dennis, Carleton College, Northfield, Minn.
American Painting Since the Death of Painting, curated by Donald Kuspit and presented in association with the U.S.S.R. Union of Artists, Kuznetsky Most Exhibition Hall, Moscow
1988 Selections from the Collection, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Conn.
1987 Urban Images: Scenes of the City, A.P. Giannini Gallery, Bank of America World Headquarters, San Francisco
Urban Visions: The Contemporary Artist and New York, Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery, Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y.
Artchildren/Artselves, City without Walls, Newark, N.J.
1986 Landscape, Seascape, Cityscape, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; New York Academy of Art
Life in the Big City, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
1985 Night Lights: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Nocturnes, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio
Art of the 1970’s and 80’s, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Conn.
One of a Kind: Monotypes from the Collection, Bank of America World Headquarters, San Francisco
1984 MetaManhattan, works that contribute to a transformation of Manhattan. Whitney Museum of American Art (Downtown Branch), Federal Hall, New York
Contemporary Triptychs, Edith C. Blum Art Institute, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Night Paintings, Florence Wilcox Gallery, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Penn.
Night Lights, Dart Gallery, Chicago
1983 Prints from Blocks: Gauguin to Now, Museum of Modern Art, New York
A Celebration of American Women Artists: Part II, Recent Generation, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
The American Artist as Printmaker: The 23rd National Print Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum
Terminal New York, Brooklyn Army Terminal
Brave New Work: Recent American Paintings and Drawings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
New York, New Art: Contemporary Paintings from New York Galleries, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Del.
Turbulences, American Center in Paris
1982 Gallery Group, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
Selected Prints III, Brooke Alexander Gallery, New York
Visiting Artists’ Invitational, Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia
1981 Prints: Acquisitions 1977-1981, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Oct. 15–Jan. 3, 1982
Paintings, Brooke Alexander Gallery
Exchanges III, Louis Abrons Arts for Living Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York
Art at Work, General Mills, Minneapolis
1980 Almost Abstract, Boston College Art Gallery, Newton, Mass.
Drawing of a Different Nature, Portland Center for the Visual Arts, Portland, Ore.
Diamond, Lieberman, Lipski: Recent Works, Root Art Center, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.
1979 Sixth British International Print Biennale, Cartwright Hall, Bradford, England
1978 Thick Paint. Art in reaction to the thin, impersonal surfaces of pop art, minimalism and color-field painting, Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Oct. 1–Nov. 8
Paintings ’75, ’76, ’77, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, N.Y.
1977 New Abstract Objects, Hallwalls Center for Contemporary Arts, Buffalo, N.Y.
1974 Tenth Anniversary Exhibition 1964-1974, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Conn., Sept. 15–Dec. 15
1973 Contemporary Reflections 1972-73, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Conn., April 22–Aug. 19