Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell was an American painter and is considered one of the founding artists of Abstract Expressionism. He was one of the youngest members in the New York School, which also included huge names such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. Motherwell’s motive was to separate the properties of color and line from its strict representative role and explore its possibilities when not tied to a representative figure. Motherwell was originally trained in philosophy, graduating from Stanford University in 1937 and then went to graduate school at Harvard University. While studying briefly at Columbia University, Meyer Schapiro attempted to steer him towards painting rather than philosophy. Furthermore, it was after spending time with surrealist painter Roberto Matta, that Motherwell was ready to dedicate his time and life to painting. 

Motherwell was the subject of a variety of exhibitions overseas in the 1970’s in Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Vienna, Paris, Edinburgh and London. His work is featured in collections such as the Guggenheim Museum, New York; Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusettts; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Fort Worth, Texas and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. 

Motherwell died in Provincetown Massachusetts in July of 1991, aged 76 years.