Biography

The American painter Robert Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1915. He is one of the outstanding representatives of Action Painting and Abstract Expressionism. In 1935 he began studying philosophy at Stanford University, California, graduating with a BA in 1937. Here he met the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead and through him came into contact with the works of the French symbolist poets. Inspired by this, Motherwell opens up the possibilities of abstraction in both art and literature. During a month-long trip to Europe in 1938, he got to know and love European modernism. Back in America, Motherwell began studying art history at Columbia University in New York in 1940. There he met the most important representatives of Abstract Expressionism. The art historian Meyer Schapiro, who teaches at Columbia, strongly influenced Motherwell and introduced him to the group of European Surrealists who were in New York at the time. Motherwell is particularly impressed by the concept of Écriture automatique. The basic idea that art is created by the artist's subconscious, by allowing the hand to run freely without consciously controlling the movements, so to speak automatically, becomes the central principle in his work. In 1941, Motherwell went on a trip to Mexico with the surrealist Roberto Matta. The 'Mexican Sketchbook' created there clearly shows the influence of surrealism. Motherwell's steep career began in 1943 with her participation in an exhibition of collages by European modernists at the invitation of Peggy Guggenheim. From then on, collages became an integral part of his oeuvre. This was followed by a solo exhibition in Guggenheim's 'Art of This Century Gallery' in New York and a contract with the art dealer Sam Kootz in 1945.

At the same time, Motherwell began his career as a teacher, writer and editor in the 1940s. Over the next two decades he taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and, together with Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and William Baziotes, founded the art school 'Subjects of the Artists' in Greenwich Village, New York. From 1950 – 1958 Motherwell also taught at Hunter College, New York. He wrote for the surrealist publication 'VVV' in 1941 and later edited the influential 'Documents of Modern Art' series, the magazine 'Possibilities' and the anthology 'The Dada Painters and Poets'. In 1948, Motherwell began his series 'Elegies to the Spanish Republic', more than 140 works that are among Motherwell's best-known. The second large group of works in the 'Je t'aime' series was created between 1953 and 1957. These works also maintain the dialogue between the strictly formal compositions of European Modernism and the more spontaneous, emotionally expressive methods of Abstract Expressionism. In 1961, Motherwell began publishing his collages as limited editions of lithographs.

He is the only representative of his generation of Abstract Expressionists to use printing techniques extensively as part of his artistic practice. Motherwell now also uses everyday products such as cigarette packs in his collages. He began his third major group of works, 'Opens', in 1968 after his divorce from Helen Frankenthaler. As in his earlier series, the works in the 'Opens' series are based on a relatively simple formal construct - in this case a two- to three-sided rectilinear box on a predominantly monochrome surface. Here Motherwell finds almost unlimited scope for variations and extrapolations. Motherwell remains continuously productive until the end. In addition to painting, he continues to devote himself to printing techniques and proofreading. After a long, successful life, Robert Motherwell died in 1991 at his home in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Museum and single exhibitions (selection)

2023

Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting, Kunstforum Wien, Vienna, Austria

Robert Motherwell: Pure Painting, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, United States

2022

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself, The Menil Collection, Houston, TX, United States

Robert Motherwell: Abstracción poética, Museo Fernando García Ponce (MACAY), Mérida, Mexico

2020

Robert Motherwell: Collages, CAC Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Málaga, Málaga, Spain

2019

Robert Motherwell: Elegy, Barakat Contemporary Seoul, South Korea

2017

Robert Motherwell - Masterprints (Berlin), Kunsthalle Koidl, Berlin, Deutschland | Germany

2015

Between Life and Death: Robert Motherwell's Elegies in Bay Area Collections, The de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA
Robert Motherwell: Lyric Suite, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA

2014

Robert Motherwell: The East Hampton Years, 1944-1952, Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, USA
At five in the afternoon: Robert Motherwell, National Gallery of Australia, Australien | Australia

2013

Robert Motherwell: Early Collages, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, USA
Robert Motherwell. Early Collages, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italien | Italy

2012

Robert Motherwell - Beside The Sea, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, USA Robert Motherwell: Abstract Expressionist, Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA),
Saint Louis, USA
The Essential Idea: Robert Motherwell's Graphic Works, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, USA

2011

Focus: Robert Motherwell, Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA

2010

Robert Motherwell, Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview, USA
Lost in Form, Found in Line: Works by Robert Motherwell, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, USA

2009

Robert Motherwell: An Attitude Toward Reality From the Collection of the Walker Art Center, Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, USA
Robert Motherwell: Lost in Form, Found in Line, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA), Jacksonville, USA

2008

Robert Motherwell - Tres poemas de Octavio Paz, Museo de Arte Abstracto Español,
Cuenca, Spanien | Spain

2007

Twelve Drawings from Robert Motherwell's Lyric Suite, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, USA

2006

Robert Motherwell, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, USA
Robert Motherwell - Te Quiero, Utah, Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, USA

2004

Robert Motherwell, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Deutschland | Germany
Robert Motherwell from the Collection: 1940–1990, The Modern Art, Museum of Fort Worth,
Fort Worth, USA

2003

Robert Motherwell - A la pintura (to painting), The Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA

1998

Robert Motherwell's Graphics II, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia, USA

1997

Robert Motherwell: A la Pintura, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, USA
Motherwell, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spanien | Spain

1996

Robert Motherwell, Fundación Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spanien | Spain
Robert Motherwell: Reality and Abstraction, Walker Art Center, USA

1995

Motherwell: Obra Gráfica (1975-1991), Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, Cuenca, Spanien | Spain

1991

Robert Motherwell: Prints and Collages from the Collection, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, USA
Robert Motherwell. La puerta abierta, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico

1990

Robert Motherwell's A la Pintura, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA

1989

Robert Motherwell: the music collages, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, USA

1987

Gifts of Works on Paper by Robert Motherwell, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, USA • Concentrations: Robert Motherwell, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, USA

1985

Robert Motherwell: the collaged image, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA
Robert Motherwell: Stephen’s Iron Crown and Related Works,
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, USA

1984

Robert Motherwell, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, USA

1980

The Painter and the Printer: Robert Motherwell's Graphics, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA),
New York City, USA
Robert Motherwell, Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spanien | Spain

1977

A La Pintura by Robert Motherwell, University of Iowa, Museum of Art, Iowa City, USA

1976

Robert Motherwell: A la Pintura, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, USA
Robert Motherwell - Gemälde und Collagen der Jahre 1944 bis 1976, anlässlich des amerikanischen Bizentenarismus, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Deutschland | Germany

1973

The Collages of Robert Motherwell: A Retrospective Exhibition,
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA

1972

To Painting by Robert Motherwell, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, USA
Robert Motherwell's A la pintura - the genesis of a book, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City, USA

1971

Robert Motherwell - Bilder u. Collagen 1967-1970, Kunstverein Freiburg,
Freiburg, Deutschland | Germany
Robert Motherwell: Lyric Suite, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA

1970

Madrid Suite: Robert Motherwell, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA • Works on Paper by Robert Motherwell, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, USA

1969

Robert Motherwell: Lyric Suite, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, USA

1968

Robert Motherwell Paintings, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA

1967

Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA

1966

Robert Motherwell: Gemälde, Colagen, Zeichnungen, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Deutschland | Germany
Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), Houston, USA

1965

Robert Motherwell, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, USA

1963

Robert Motherwell, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, USA 1962
Robert Motherwell - A Retrospective Exhibition, Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, USA

1946

Robert Motherwell, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA