Curvilinear is Alton S. Tobey's own personal creation. Tobey's curvilinear abstractions evolved over some three decades from around the middle of the 1950's into the 1980's. His inspiration was his observation of Albert Einstein's postulate that no true straight lines exist in reality. From this he created a complex alphabet of complex shapes in his works, always consisting of curved lines. The letters of this alpahabet combine to express the artist's intention or feeling. An understanding of Tobey's vocabulary increases as observers become more familiar with his curvilinear work.