$716Sale Price|20% Off
Robert Motherwell, Tricolor, from XXe Siecle, 1973
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
This exquisite lithograph by Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), titled Tricolor, from the album XXe Siecle, Annee No. 40, Juin 1973, originates from the 1973 edition published by Societe...
Lithograph
Seaside Studio
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"Seaside Studio" is a paradigm of Motherwell's aesthetic, featuring bold, black shapes and linework against a powerful background of saturated red.
Etching, Aquatint
Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, 25th Anniversary - Lithograph by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Long Island City, NY
Robert Motherwell’s vibrant red lithograph features a collage-like composition with an intense contrast of black and red on top of sheet music.
Lithograph
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Red Open)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Untitled (Red Open) ca. 1970 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas board 17.8 x 22.8 cms (7 x 9 ins) RM9923 P575 Artist's studio number P71-286 Signed (verso) Provenance...
Charcoal, Acrylic
Dance III (Red)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint on J. B. Green paper. Signed and numbered 5/50 in pencil by Motherwell. Printed by Catherine Mousley in the artist's studio, Greenwich, ...
Color, Aquatint
Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Miami, FL
TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz suite 1987-88 Lithograph and linoleum cut in colors with chine appliqué on handmade Japanese Masa Dosa paper on Arches support. ...
Handmade Paper, Lithograph, Linocut
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching and aquatint on Arches Cover paper. Signed and numbered 15/100 by Motherwell. There are 20 artist proofs, number...
Etching, Aquatint
$7,996Sale Price|20% Off
Red Wind (Belknap 354-380; Engberg/Banach 415-441), Three Poems
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
Lithograph on Japon à la main, attached with chine appliqué to vélin d’Arches paper. Paper Size: 21.5 x 17.875 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From th...
Lithograph
$7,996Sale Price|20% Off
Red Samurai! (Belknap 354-380; Engberg/Banach 415-441), Three Poems
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
Lithograph on Japon à la main, attached with chine appliqué to vélin d’Arches paper. Paper Size: 21.5 x 17.875 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From th...
Lithograph
Red Sea III
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint and lift-ground etching on Georges Duchêne Hawthorne of Larroque handmade paper, Edition of 70 1983 90.2 x 46.4 cms (35 1/2 x 18 1/4 ins)
Etching, Aquatint
Price Upon Request
The Red and Black No. 52
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Houston, TX
Robert Motherwell's "The Red and Black No.52" is an abstract collage that incorporates oil based etching ink, pasted papers, and aquatint on paper.
Paper, Ink, Aquatint
Octavio Paz Suite: Red Samurai
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph, linoleum block print, and chine appliqué, Edition of 50 CR 435 Paper:Arches paper; Japanese Masa Dosa handmade paper Production Sequence:4 colors (including 1 colored pap...
Lithograph
Price Upon Request
Red, White and Blue No. 2
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Acrylic and pasted paper on paper 21.6 x 17.8 cms (8 1/2 x 7 ins)
Paper, Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Red, White and Blue No. 1
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Acrylic and pasted paper on paper 21.6 x 17.8 cms (8 1/2 x 7 ins)
Paper, Acrylic
The Whale's Belly
By Jeannie Motherwell
Located in Boston, MA
Jeannie Motherwell Born and raised in New York City, Jeannie Motherwell studied painting at Bard College and the Art Students League in New York. Continuing with her art after colleg...
Acrylic
Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Created by Robert Motherwell in 1989, Flags is an original lithograph with embossing on red Moriki appliqué.
Lithograph
Three Forms
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"Three forms" is a superb impression from Motherwell. Featuring bold, black shapes against a powerful field of saturated red, this etching is not easily forgotten.
Etching, Aquatint
Tricolor with Dollar - Original lithograph (Mourlot 1973)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Paris, IDF
Robert MOTHERWELL Tricolor with Dollar, 1973 Original lithograph (Printed in Mourlot workshop) Printed signature in the plate On heavy paper 31 x 24 cm (c. 12 x 10 inch) Edited by ...
Lithograph
Price Upon Request
The Studio
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell The Studio 1987 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 152.4 x 182.9 cms (60 x 72 ins) RM13966 P1140 When Motherwell made The Studio, in 1987, he was nearing the end of an...
Charcoal, Acrylic
Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"Flags" is a superb impression from Motherwell. Featuring bold, black shapes against a powerful field of saturated red, this work is not easily forgotten.
Handmade Paper, Lithograph
Unavailable
H 25 in W 24 in
Mexican Night II, Robert Motherwell Etching and Aquatint
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Danvers, MA
Motherwell conveys a strong sense of movement and energy, utilizing a potent, commanding red thats calls to one's primordial instincts.
Paper, Etching, Aquatint
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Aquatint and soft-ground etching 18 1/2 x 35 5/8 inches Edition of 56 Signed and numbered MOTX238A
Aquatint, Etching
Red Queen
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Aquatint, etching and collage 31 x 25 inches Edition of 40 Signed and numbered MOTX476B
Aquatint, Etching
Red Queen
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition of 40 plus 10 artist's proofs & various other proofs Signed
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Red Sea I, 1976 Aquatint 41 1/2 x 29 1/16 inches Edition of 100 Signed and numbered MOTX158C
Etching, Aquatint
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition of 100 plus 20 artist's proofs Signed and numbered in pencil
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition of 56 plus 10 artist's proofs, 1 cancellation proof and various other proofs Signed and numbered in ink lower left
The Red and Black No. 48
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Charlotte, NC
Seaside Studio
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Seaside Studio, 1990 aquatint and etching on Whatman paper 31 1/2 x 27 3/4 inches 80 x 70.5 cm Edition of 32 (PKE 19186)
Aquatint
Sol, acrylic paint on board
By Jeannie Motherwell
Located in Boston, MA
The color palette is warm and vibrant, using various tones of red and yellow with hints of green. Born and raised in New York City, Jeannie Motherwell inherited a love of painting f...
Acrylic, Board
Foison, acrylic paint on board
By Jeannie Motherwell
Located in Boston, MA
Motherwell created this abstract acrylic painting on board by intuitively pouring paint on board to create a dynamic, explosive composition filled with interesting shapes and texture...
Acrylic, Board
Untitled 23
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Tbilisi, GE
Original lithograph on paper - Published by The Limited Editions Club New York - From The Octavio Paz Suite - Hand Signed on a Seperate shet - Matted and Framed with Signature
Mixed Media
Tricolor 137
By (after) Robert Motherwell
Located in Mount Vernon, NY
Date: 1973 Lithograph, signed in the plate Image Size: 12 x 9 inches
Lithograph
"Rite of Passage II" Lithograph by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Stamford, CT
"Rite of Passage II" lithograph by Robert Motherwell, red and white duplex Tyler Graphics Ltd; handmade.
Paper
Sold
H 51.38 in W 38.38 in
Untitled (Red) /// Abstract Expressionism Robert Motherwell Screenprint Minimal
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Robert Motherwell (American, 1915-1991) Title: "Untitled (Red)" Portfolio: London Series I *Signed by Motherwell in pencil lower right.
Screen
Sold
H 14.5 in W 10.5 in
Tricolor, Limited Edition Lithograph, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Rites of Passage II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Not surprisingly, Motherwell's red prints are the most collected and sought-after works in his oeuvre.
Handmade Paper, Lithograph
Sold
H 16.75 in W 18.5 in
No. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind), Framed Lithograph by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Long Island City, NY
No. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind) by Robert Motherwell, American (1915–1991) Portfolio: Three Poems - Octavio Paz Date: 1988 Lithograph on Masa Dosa paper, mounted to board Edition o...
Rice Paper, Lithograph
Sold
H 24.02 in W 29.77 in
Australian Stone -- Aquatint, Handmade Paper, Etching by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
ROBERT MOTHERWELL Australian Stone, 1983-84 Aquatint printed in red, with chine collé onto Hawthorne of Larroque handmade paper Signed and numbered from the edition of 52 Printed in...
Etching, Aquatint
Palo Alto
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Not surprisingly, Motherwell's red prints are the most collected and sought-after works in his oeuvre.
Lithograph
Red Sea II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: Motherwell, Robert Title: Red Sea II Date: 1979 Medium: Color Etching with Aquatint on German etching paper Unframed Dimensions: 34.375" x 29" Framed Dimensions: 42" x...
Etching
The Red Queen
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint and collage Edition of 40 78.7 x 63.5 cms (31 x 25 ins)
Etching, Aquatint
Sold
H 30 in W 22 in D 2 in
"Redness of Red" Lithograph Screenprint Collage Contemporary Abstract Abex 1/100
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
"Redness of Red" Lithograph Screenprint Collage Contemporary Abstract Abex 1/100 Redness of Red by Robert Burns Motherwell (1915-1991) Lithograph Screenprint With Collage 1984, Edit...
Paper, Lithograph, Screen
Untitled (Phoenician Red) (M76-9)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed monotype in etching inks on handmade Hayle Mill paper by American artist Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) titled "Untitled (Phoenician Red) (M76-9)", 1976.
Handmade Paper, Etching, Monotype
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint and soft-ground etching on Georges Duchene Hawthorne of Larroque handmade paper 47 x 90.5 cms (18 1/2 x 35 5/8 ins) Edition of 56
Aquatint, Color, Etching
Abstract Red and Black Painting after Robert Motherwell
Located in Atlanta, GA
Abstract red and black painting with thick impasto texture, after Robert Motherwell, American, circa 1980s.
Canvas, Wood
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching and aquatint on Arches Cover paper. Signed and numbered 8/100 by Motherwell. Printed by Catherine Mosley at the ...
Etching, Aquatint
Red Sea II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
87.6 x 37.7 cms (34.5 x 29 ins) Edition of 100
Color, Etching
In Celebration
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
While red is a dominant color in Motherwell's prints, and arguably the most sought after by collectors, here we see the red background both enhanced and concealed by collage-like ele...
Lithograph
Wave
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Large, vibrant color lithograph by Abstract Expressionist artist Robert Motherwell from a limited edition of 92. Signed by Motherwell and numbered in pencil. Printed and published ...
Lithograph
Tricolor (from XXe Siecle)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Robert Motherwell Title: Tricolor (from XXe Siecle) Medium: Lithograph Date: 1973 Edition: Unnumbered Frame Size: 18 1/2" x 16 1/2" Sheet Size: 12 1/2" x 10 1/2" Signature: U...
Lithograph
Put out All Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A superb impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching on German Etching paper. Signed and numbered 22/50 in pencil by Motherwell. Printed by Catherine Mosley in the arti...
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Tricolor, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Tricolor, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Tricolor, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Sold
H 14.5 in W 10.5 in
Tricolor, Limited Edition Lithograph, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Sold
H 14.5 in W 10.5 in
Tricolor, Limited Edition Lithograph, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Sold
H 14.5 in W 10.5 in
Tricolor, Limited Edition Lithograph, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Sold
H 14.5 in W 10.5 in
Tricolor, Limited Edition Lithograph, Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Southampton, NY
ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) A leading exponent of American abstract expressionism, Robert Motherwell has served as a vital spokesman for the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth centur...
Lithograph
Sold
H 23 in W 18 in
No. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind), Framed Lithograph by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Long Island City, NY
No. 1 from Three Poems (Red Wind) Robert Motherwell, American (1915–1991) Portfolio: Three Poems - Octavio Paz Date: 1988 Lithograph on Masa Dosa paper, mounted to board Edition of 7...
Rice Paper, Lithograph
Sold
H 27 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
1981 Robert Motherwell 'Art Chicago (No Text)' Expressionism Red, Black & White U
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 27 x 20 inches ( 68.58 x 50.8 cm ) Image Size: 23 x 15 inches ( 58.42 x 38.1 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A: Mint Additional Details: Tyler Graphics Ltd. Image Copyri...
Lithograph
Sold
H 27 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
1981 Robert Motherwell 'Art Chicago (No Text)' Expressionism Red, Black & White U
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Paper Size: 27 x 20 inches ( 68.58 x 50.8 cm ) Image Size: 23 x 15 inches ( 58.42 x 38.1 cm ) Framed: No Condition: A: Mint Additional Details: Tyler Graphics Ltd. Image Copyri...
Lithograph
Sold
H 20 in W 24 in
FACE OF THE NIGHT(Octavio Paz)Lithograph Abstract Expressionist, Black Red Gold
By (after) Robert Motherwell
Located in Union City, NJ
Excellent craftsmanship, rich vivid colors, intense black and red, with touches of pink and gold yellow printed on high quality fine art printmaking paper.
Lithograph
Sold
H 12.21 in W 9.45 in
Tricolor with Dollar - Original lithograph (Mourlot 1973)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Paris, IDF
Robert MOTHERWELL Tricolor with Dollar, 1973 Original lithograph (Printed in Mourlot workshop) Printed signature in the plate On heavy paper 31 x 24 cm (c. 12 x 10 inch) Edited by ...
Lithograph
Wave
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A print by Robert Motherwell. "Wave" is an abstract gestural print, lithograph on paper in a bold palette of red and black by Post-War, American artist Robert Motherwell.
Lithograph
Red Sea III
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Red Sea III is signed by Motherwell.
Etching, Aquatint
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Red Open with White Line, 1979 Aquatint from one copper plate printed in red: soft-ground etching from one copper plate printed in black 18 x 36 in. (45.7 x 91.4...
Etching, Aquatint
Sold
H 40.375 in W 28.5 in
Robert Motherwell, Hermitage, 1975, (112/200), color lithograph
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Robert Motherwell Hermitage, 1975, (112/200) color lithograph 40.25 x 28.50 in
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Robert MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) Red Sea I, 1976 Aquatint in red and black Image: 23 9/16 x 19 3/4 inches Sheet: 41 1/2 x 29 1/16 inches, Arches Cover Edition of 100 plus 20 artist's pr...
Black Mountain (State II Red)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 32 Signed in pencil
Aquatint
London Series I: Untitled (Red)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Edition of 150 Signed $5,000 - $10,000
Screen
Red Wind, from the Octavio Paz suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Robert MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) Red Wind, from the Octavio Paz suite, 1987-88 Lithograph Image: 9 1/5 x 11 inches Sheet: 22 1/2 x 27 3/4 inches, Masa Dosa paper adhered to Arches paper...
Red Samurai, from the Octavio Paz Suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Initialed and numbered, lower right Edition of 50 plus 10 artist's proofs & various other proofs
Red Wind, from the Octavio Paz suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Edition of 50 + 10 AP's numbered I-X + 5 TP's + 5 HC's; Initialed and numbered, lower right
Lithograph
Wave
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Fe, NM
In 1940, a young painter named Robert Motherwell came to New York City and joined a group of artists – including Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Franz Kline - who...
Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Lithograph 36 3/8 x 30 inches Edition of 68 Signed and numbered MOTX470B
Lithograph
Three Forms
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint printed in two colors (red, black) from two copper plates on German Etching paper. Hand-signed in pencil with the artist’s monogr...
Aquatint
$500
H 15 in W 22 in
Derrière Le Miroir No. 250 (page 20, 21) /// Modern Abstract Joan Miro Red Art
By Joan Miró
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983) Title: "Untitled (page 20, 21)" Portfolio: Derrière Le Miroir: Hommage à Aimé et Marguerite Maeght (No. 250) *Issued unsigned Year: 1982 Medium...
Lithograph
$1,600
H 16 in W 22.88 in
Untitled (One Cent Life) /// Joan Mitchell Female Artist Abstract Expressionism
By Joan Mitchell
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Joan Mitchell (American, 1925-1992) Title: "Untitled" (Page 92-93) Portfolio: One Cent Life *Unsigned edition Year: 1964 Medium: Original Lithograph on wove paper Limited edi...
Lithograph
$4,500
H 30.5 in W 23 in
The Most Distant Visible Part of the Sea, Pop Art Silkscreen by Rauschenberg
By Robert Rauschenberg
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Robert Rauschenberg, American (1925 - 2008) Title: The Most Distant Visible Part of the Sea Year: 1979 Medium: Lithograph and Screenprint, Signed and numbered in pencil Editi...
Lithograph, Screen
$929
H 42.13 in W 29.93 in
1982 Original poster created for an event at Symphony Space in New York
By Robert Rauschenberg
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful poster created for a twelve-hour event at Symphony Space in New York on March 13, 1982, from 11 am to 11 pm. Participants included John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Merce Cun...
Paper, Lithograph
Robert Rauschenberg, Tate Gallery, 1981 (Exhibition Poster)
By Robert Rauschenberg
Located in New York, NY
Lithograph poster by Robert Rauschenberg for The Tate Gallery Publications Dept., printed in 1981 in Great Britain by the Hilingdon Press Uxbridge, Middlesex. Archivally-hinged, with...
Plexiglass, Paper
$2,800
H 26 in W 11.5 in
Signed John Baldessari print 1991 (Baldessari Love and Work)
By John Baldessari
Located in NEW YORK, NY
John Baldessari Love and Work 1991: Baldessari’s Love & Work 1991, photogravure and color aquatint, features clasped hands clutching surrealistically amidst a black background. ...
Screen, Lithograph, Aquatint, Photogravure
$5,800
H 51 in W 44.5 in D 2 in
Robert Rauschenberg "Broken Harp" Pencil Signed Lithograph 24/500 executed 1989
By Robert Rauschenberg
Located in Dallas, TX
Signed and numbered lithograph on woven paper designed by Robert Rauschenberg titled "Broken Harp". An early edition, number 24 of only 500 prints ever made. Executed on woven paper ...
Paper
Voice 2
By Jasper Johns
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A print by Jasper Johns. “Voice 2” is a lithograph in seven colors on handmade Fred Stiegenthaler paper in a palette of vivid colors with heavy blacks by American painter and printma...
Handmade Paper, Lithograph
Two Figures (One with Shadow)
By John Baldessari
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: John Baldessari Title: Two Figures (One with Shadow) Year: 1986 Medium: Etching with aquatint on Rives B.F.K paper Sheet: 20 1/2 x 20 inches (52.07 x 50.8 cm) Edition: 35; si...
Etching, Aquatint
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.
Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.
Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.
Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.
Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.
Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.
“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.
Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.
For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)
Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.