Featuring a comprehensive collection of Robert Motherwell's 1,413 known drawings, this definitive publication serves as an invaluable resource for artists, scholars, collectors, and enthusiasts. It delves into the nuances of Motherwell's artistic process and offers insights into his creative vision, making it a crucial addition to the study of modern art.
The book is devoted to Robert Motherwell (1915-1991); American painter, printmaker, and editor, he was one of the founding artists of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism, associated with fellow artistic giants Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Barnett Newman. Each chapter of the book focuses on an important aspect or phase of the artist's life in relation to his art, and explores the many ways in which his activities as an artist, writer, and theorist helped to shape American culture during the second half of the twentieth century.
A Catalogue Raisonné, 1941-1991
Robert Motherwell (1915–1991) was one of the preeminent Abstract Expressionists and a spokesperson for that generation of artists. During a career that lasted half a century, he created a large and varied body of work, constantly reinventing and refining his signature motifs. He produced some of the most innovative and profound imagery of the 20th century, such as the Elegy to the Spanish Republic, Iberia, Open, and Summertime in Italy series, as well as one of the largest and most inventive oeuvres in collage. This monumental catalogue raisonné documents 1,209 paintings on canvas and panel, 722 paintings on paper, and 889 collages, providing extensive information about each work. In the first volume, the authors present an overview of Motherwell's career, and discuss key topics including the tension between figuration and abstraction in his work, his role as a spokesperson for modernism, and the changing nature of the critical reception of his work. This volume also contains a richly detailed, illustrated chronology of his life. Exquisitely designed and produced, this catalogue will be the definitive reference on Robert Motherwell's paintings and collages for years to come.
The parallel lives of two compelling and competitive artists and their recurrent engagements with desire and mortality