Robert Motherwell
Biography
Robert Motherwell would become one of the defining American artists of the Twentieth Century. His passion for and belief in Abstract Expressionism, along with contemporaries such as De Kooning, Kline and Pollock, would help to propel the movement to prominence and legitimacy. In addition to his artistic output, Motherwell would be particularly valuable because of his ability to articulate the concepts and ideals of the Abstract Expressionism movement, which helped to build an understanding and appreciation of the style with the public.
Born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1915, Motherwell showed a talent for art at a young age, earning a scholarship for study at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Despite this, his original intent was to become a philosopher and as such he attended Stanford University, graduating in 1937 with a bachelors degree in philosophy. In 1938 he took a lengthy trip to Europe, beginning to paint seriously for the first time. During the following years Motherwell would attend further graduate classes, first undergoing a year of philosophy study at Harvard University before switching his vocation to art and art history which he studied briefly at Columbia University.
He is best known for his mature work, recognizable for its graphic composition of saturated and expressive brushstrokes. In addition to his contributions in painting, Motherwell taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and Hunter College in New York, and was the editor of several influential books on art history.
He met the painter Helen Frankenthaler in 1957, and they were married three years later. During their 13 year marriage, the two artists’ mutual interest in the poetry of abstraction fueled one another’s work. Motherwell died on July 16, 1991 in Cape Cod, MA.
Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London, among others.
Born: 1915
Died: 1991
Education: Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, Otis College of Art and Design
Exhibitions
Select Exhibitions
2022
Robert Motherwell: Paintings / Paper / Prints, JERALD MELBERG GALLERY CHARLOTTE | NORTH CAROLINA | USA
2021
Robert Motherwell: Prints. Published by Marlborough Graphics, Inc., 1970-1971, MARLBOROUGH, NEW YORK CHELSEA | NEW YORK | USA
2020
Robert Motherwell: The Prints, A Survey, BERNARD JACOBSON GALLERY ST. JAMES’S | LONDON | UK
2019
Helen Frankenthaler & Robert Motherwell: The Art of Marriage, MNUCHIN GALLERY UPPER EAST SIDE | NEW YORK | USA
Sheer Presence: Monumental Paintings by Robert Motherwell
KASMIN GALLERY, NEW YORK (509 W 27TH STR) CHELSEA | NEW YORK | USA
2018
Robert Motherwell: Open Series, GALERIE TEMPLON, PARIS (RUE BEAUBOURG) 3E | PARIS | FRANCE
Robert Motherwell, SOTHEBY’S LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES | CALIFORNIA | USA
2017
Motherwell: The Box, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, UK (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: Masterprints, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, UK (solo exhibition)
Abstract Expressionism, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain
2016
Robert Motherwell: The Art of the Collage, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
A Process of Emphasis: Prints of Robert Motherwell, Works on Paper, 1971-1988, Dedalus Foundation, New London, CT (solo exhibition)
Making Modern: Hofmann and the Next Generation,” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Leap Before you Look: Black Mountain College, 1933-1957, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
2015–2016
Robert Motherwell Selected Exhibitions in 2015-2016:
Motherwell at 100, Dedalus Foundation, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Between Life and Death: Robert Motherwell’s Elegies in Bay Area Collections, De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (solo exhibition)
2015
Motherwell and The New York School at Hunter, Dedalus Foundation, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell as Printmaker: The Artist at Work, Dedalus Foundation, Brooklyn, NY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: A Centennial Celebration, Dedalus Foundation, Provincetown, MA (solo exhibition)
Master Prints of the ‘70s – ‘90s, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014–2015
Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper, 1951-1991, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
2014
Motherwell: Collage, Part II, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson, WY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: At five in the afternoon, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: The East Hampton Years, 1944–1952, Guild Hall, East Hampton, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia (solo exhibition)
Made in the USA: American Masters from The Phillips Collection, 1850-1970, Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Modern Masters: 20th Century Icons from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Denver Art Museum, CO
Sincerely Yours: Treasures of the Queen City, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Gauguin to Warhol: 20th Century Icons from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, San Diego Museum of Art, CA
Van Gogh to Rothko: Masterworks from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
Rothko to Richter: Mark-Making in Abstract Painting from the Collection of Preston H. Haskell, Princeton University Art Museum, NJ; Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
2013–2014
Robert Motherwell: Early Collages, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
2013
Motherwell: A Survey, Paintings/Paper/Prints, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: Collage, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, UK; Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York, NY (solo exhibition)
Motherwell: Four Decades of Collage, McClain Gallery, Houston, TX (solo exhibition)
American Gestures: Abstract Expressionism, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Hidden Treasures Unveiled: Watercolors, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Disturbing the Piece: An Expedition through the World of Collages, MARTa Herford, Germany; Kunstmuseum Ahlen, Germany
2012
Motherwell: Prints from the Artist’s Studio (London) – Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, England
Motherwell: Abstract Expressionist – St. Louis University Museum of Art – SLUMA, St. Louis, USA
The Essential Idea: Robert Motherwell’s Graphic Works – Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, USA
2011
Motherwell: Works on Paper – Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, England
Focus: Robert Motherwell – Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA
Motherwell: Music – Greenfield Sacks Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
2010
Motherwell – Paintings – Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, USA
Motherwell – printmaking impressions – Galerie Weihergut Biberngasse, Salzburg, Austria
Lost in Form, Found in Line: Works by Robert Motherwell – Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, USA
2009
The Thaw Collection of Master Drawings: Acquisitions since 2002, Morgan Library and Museum, USA
Motherwell: Unique Monotypes, Greenfield Sacks Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
Beyond the Canon: Small Scale American Abstraction 1945-1965, Robert Miller Gallery, USA
Motherwell: Lost in Form, Found in Line, Turchin Center for the Visual Art, Boone, USA
Motherwell, Galleria d’Arte il Gabbiano, Rome, Italy
2008
The Hands of Art, SMAK Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent, Belgium
Museum Morsbroich, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Robert Motherwell: Five Great Opens, Bernard Jacobsen Gallery, London, England
Reflections on Light, Galerie Bernd Kluser, Munich, Germany
2007
Temptations, The Columns, Seoul, Korea
2006
Black, Black & White, White, Leonard Hutton Galleries, New York , USA
2005
Looking at Words, erie, Das MoMA, Berlin, Germany
2004
Motherwell, Rosenbaum Contemporary, Boca Raton, USA
Motherwell, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany
Motherwell from the Collection: 1940–1990, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, USA
2003
Motherwell, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, England
Motherwell – A la pintura (to painting), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
2002
Motherwell: Drawings and Related Prints – Greenfield Sacks Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
Motherwell – Galerie Bernd Klüser, Munich, Germany
1999
Motherwell: Unique Works on Paper: Monoprints and Monotypes, Greenfield Sacks Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
1998
Motherwell’s Graphics II, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA
1996
Motherwell: Reality and Abstraction, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA
1994
Motherwell’s Graphics I, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA
1984
Motherwell, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1983
The Painter and The Printer: Robert Motherwell’s Graphics, 1943-1980, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, USA
M. Knowdler, Zurich, Switzerland (solo)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA (solo)
1981–1983
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc. New York, USA (solo)
1982
The New School: Four Decades, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA