Untitled
View Similar Items
Robert MotherwellUntitled1978
1978
About the Item
- Creator:Robert Motherwell (1915-1991, American)
- Creation Year:1978
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:Edition 24
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU117288732
Robert Motherwell
The name of painter, printmaker and writer Robert Motherwell (1915–91) is often taken as synonymous with the New York School, whose name he coined. Motherwell was the youngest of this group of Abstract Expressionists working in art, dance, poetry and music in 1950s and '60s New York City, which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Helen Frankenthaler and Mark Rothko.
Born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1915, Motherwell had perhaps the broadest and best education of any of the New York School coterie, with an extensive background in philosophy, literature and art history. He earned a BA in philosophy in 1937 from Stanford University and was working toward a PhD in the subject at Harvard when he interrupted his studies for a yearlong trip to Europe, where he fell in love with European modernism.
After returning, in 1940 he enrolled Columbia to study art history. It was there that he met a group of exiled Parisian Surrealists, and encounter that proved influential on his style. Motherwell began to integrate the idea of “automatism” — unmediated gestures that reflect deeper psychological impulses — into his work, pioneering a new form of Abstract Expressionism that came to characterize the New York School.
Works like the 1967 Beside the Sea no. 45, an acrylic on canvas, and the 1966 lithograph New York International epitomize Motherwell’s use of simple shapes in boldly contrasting colors, executed in quick, gestural strokes that occasionally evoke figures, suggesting a latent narrative despite their obvious abstraction.
Throughout his career, Motherwell taught painting at Hunter College, in New York, and at Black Mountain College, in North Carolina, where his work influenced the likes of Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg and Kenneth Noland. His influence as one of the founding fathers of American Abstract Expressionism remains profound.
- Tiberias from the Walls: David Roberts' 19th C. Hand-colored LithographBy David RobertsLocated in Alamo, CAThis is an original 19th century hand-colored lithograph entitled "Tiberias from the Walls, Saffet (Safed) in the Distance" by David Roberts, from his Egypt and Nubia volumes of the large folio edition, published in London by F. G. Moon in 1841. The lithographs were prepared by Louis Haghe (1806-1885) from drawings and paintings by Roberts. The resultant large folio editions of 'The Holy Land' and 'Egypt & Nubia' are considered among the greatest lithographically illustrated works issued in the 19th century. This page from Roberts' 19th century publication includes a half-folio hand-colored lithograph of a view of the town of Tiberias and with the town of Safed on the hill in the distance. They lie along the Sea of Galilee...Category
1840s Realist Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Chez Panisse 12th Birthday Celebration: Limited Ed. Goines Graphic Art PosterBy David Lance GoinesLocated in Alamo, CAThis original graphic art lithographic poster entitled "Twelve, Chez Panisse Twelfth Birthday" was created by David Lance Goines in 1983 in his Berkeley s...Category
Late 20th Century Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Mothu et Doria: A 19th C. Lithograph from Les Maitres de l'Affiche by SteinlenBy Théophile Alexandre SteinlenLocated in Alamo, CAThis is a framed 19th century color lithograph entitled "Mothu et Doria" created by Theophile Alexandre Steinlen and published between 1896 and 1899 in Paris, France by Jules Cheret in his famous series of miniature colored stone lithographs of popular Belle Epoch posters...Category
Late 19th Century Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Northern Meadow Mouse" an Audubon Hand Colored by J.T. Bowen LithographBy John James AudubonLocated in Alamo, CAAn original 19th century John James Audubon hand colored lithograph entitled "Northern Meadow Mouse", No. 26, Plate CXXIX, 129, from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America", printed ...Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Esquimaux Dog": An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Quadruped LithographBy John James AudubonLocated in Alamo, CAThis is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Esquimaux Dog", No. 23, Plate CXIII, from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was drawn ...Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- 19th Century Daumier Satirical Lithograph "Triumph of the Botanist"By Honoré DaumierLocated in Alamo, CAA satirical lithograph by Honoré Daumier (1808-1879) entitled "Un Triomphe de Botaniste" (Triumph of the Botanist), which depicts a proud and nervous botanist in glasses and a wide brimmed hat awaiting the critique of a snobby critic, who is smelling his blooming flowers. The French text beneath the image roughly translates: "Here, sir, sniff me that ... here is a rose of which I am proud, it blooms for the first time .... and by dint of patience, I managed to make it acquire the smell of rhubarb! .. I must be quoted in the next Journal of Useful Knowledge" or "Look at this, sir, go ahead, smell it ... I am proud of this particularly pink flower ... it's flourishing for the first time ... with patience, and care I was able to give it an odor of rhubarb! .. . Surely I should be mentioned in the next edition of the Journal of Useful knowledge". The lithograph was published in the famous and very popular French satirical...Category
1840s Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph