Archives: Photographs
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
TITLE
Robert Motherwell Archive: Photographs
CREATOR
Robert Motherwell and his studio, and the Dedalus Foundation
DATE
1915-present
EXTENT
62.5 linear feet of photographs.
REPOSITORY
Dedalus Foundation, Inc.
555 W. 57th Street, Suite 1222
New York, NY 10019
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
PROCESSING INFORMATION
Processed 2005 by Gretchen Opie.
OWNERSHIP AND LITERARY RIGHTS
Written permission must be obtained in order to reproduce any item from the Dedalus Foundation Archives. Additionally, permission to reproduce materials for which the Dedalus Foundation does not own copyright must be obtained from the copyright holder.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
There are more than 30,000 photographs in the Foundation's collection. In addition to images of nearly all of Motherwell's artworks, there are thousands of exhibition and studio photographs, portraits, slides Motherwell used when he gave lectures, personal photographs of family and friends, and other images.
ARRANGEMENT
The group is arranged in 8 series:
I: Works Photographs
II: Exhibition Photographs
III: Studio Photographs
IV: Painted Polaroids
V: Lecture Slides
VI: Portraits, Events and Personal Photographs
VII: Photographs of Archival Materials
VIII: Oversize Photographs
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
I: WORKS PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs of individual artworks make up about eighty percent of the photograph archive, totalling more than 24,000 photographs in a various formats-transparencies, prints, slides, polaroids, and negatives. This series contains images of nearly all works of art that Motherwell made. In a number cases, there are photographs of the work in progress or earlier states of a piece in addition to the final image. The series is arranged in two subseries: Unique Works (paintings, collages, paintings on paper, and drawings) and Prints (including monotypes, unique proofs and tapestries).
II: EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHS
This series contains approximately 1600 photographs documenting over 100 shows. starting in 1944 and continuing to the present. The collection is regularly updated with images of current Motherwell shows.
III: STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHS
There are about 600 images of Motherwell's studios (and occasionally his homes), dating from 1957 to 1991. The series documents the progress of his painting, early states of some works, and the order and groupings in which they were made.
IV: PAINTED POLAROIDS
As part of Motherwell's working process he sometimes took multiple polaroids of works in progress and painted over them, experimenting with different compositions and color combinations. This series contains over two hundred polaroids of thirty-nine different paintings, most from the 1980s.
V: LECTURE SLIDES
These slides are divided into two sections: the bulk of them are from the time when Motherwell was a professor at Hunter College and was a guest lecturer at other schools and for various events. These slides seem not to be arranged in any particular way, although their order on the original slide carousel and storage boxes was maintained. There are a preponderance of Picasso slides, owing to the fact that Motherwell taught entire courses on Picasso, and many of other modern artists. The second set of slides is carefully broken into four parts by Motherwell for a series of lectures he gave in 1977.
CONTAINER LIST
II: Exhibition Photographs
| II.1 | Art of This Century, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Papiers Collés, Drawings" | 1944 |
| II.2 | Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, "Paintings and Collages by Motherwell" | 1948 |
| II.3 | Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Drawings and Collages" | 1952 |
| II.4 | Kirby Student Center, University of Minnesota-Duluth, "Exhibition" | 1956 |
| II.5 | Bennington College, The New Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: First Retrospective Exhibition" | 1959 |
| II.6 | Sidney Janis Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" | 1959 |
| II.7 | Museu de Arte Moderna, "VI Bienal de São Paulo" | 1961 |
| II.8 | New Gallery, Charles Hayden Memorial Library, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Robert Motherwell " | 1963 |
| II.9 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Robert Motherwell " (New York City) | 1965 |
| II.10 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Robert Motherwell " (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) | 1965 |
| II.11 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Robert Motherwell " (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam) | 1965 |
| II.12 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Robert Motherwell " (Unknown venue) | 1965 |
| II.13 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper" | 1965 |
| II.14 | The National Museum of Modern Art, "Two Decades of American Painting" | 1966 |
| II.15 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Sobre Papel: Obras de Arshile Gorky y Robert Motherwell" (1 of 2: Installation views) | 1967 |
| II.16 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Sobre Papel: Obras de Arshile Gorky y RobertMotherwell" (2 of 2: From a binder of photographs of individual works in the show, not installationviews) | 1967 |
| II.17 | Whitney Museum of American Art, "Robert Motherwell: Collages" | 1968 |
| II.18 | Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, "Robert Motherwell ‘Open’ Series 1967 -1969" | 1969 |
| II.19 | The Museum of Modern Art, "The New American Painting and Sculpture: The First Generation" | 1969 |
| II.20 | David Mirvish Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" | 1970 |
| II.21 | Fendrick Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" | 1972 |
| II.22 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "A la Pintura" | 1972 |
| II.23 | The Museum of Fine Arts, "The Collages of Robert Motherwell: A Retrospective Exhibition" | 1972 |
| II.24 | The Museum of Fine Arts, "The Collages of Robert Motherwell: A Retrospective Exhibition" (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford) | 1972 |
| II.25 | Walker Art Center, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Paintings" | 1972 |
| II.26 | Amerika-Haus, "A la pintura" | 1973 |
| II.27 | John Berggruen Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Collages & Drawings " | 1973 |
| II.28 | Tirca Karlis Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Sketches and Graphics" | 1973 |
| II.29 | David Mirvish Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" | 1973 |
| II.30 | The Princeton University Art Museum, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Work" | 1973 |
| II.31 | Galerie André Emmerich, "Robert Motherwell: New Paintings, Collages and Graphics" | 1974 |
| II.32 | Knoedler Contemporary Art, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Paintings and Collages" | 1974 |
| II.33 | Tibor de Nagy Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings & Collages" | 1974 |
| II.34 | Tibor de Nagy Gallery, "Robert Motherwell Print Exhibition" | 1974 |
| II.35 | Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, "Twelve American Painters" | 1974 |
| II.36 | Ace Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Major Paintings & Collages" | 1975 |
| II.37 | Galerie Emmerich at Basel Art Fair, "Basel Art Fair" | 1975 |
| II.38 | Knoedler Contemporary Art, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Paintings and Collages" | 1975 |
| II.39 | Museo de Arte Moderno, Bosque de Chapultepec, "Robert Motherwell: Retrospectiva del Gran Pintor Norteamericano" | 1975 |
| II.40 | Stanford University Law School, "Installation" | 1975 |
| II.41 | Brooke Alexander, "Robert Motherwell: Monotypes" | 1976 |
| II.42 | The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, "Aspects of Postwar Painting in America" (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1977) | 1976 |
| II.43 | Knoedler & Co. at Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais, "FIAC 76: 3rd International Contemporary Art Fair" | 1976 |
| II.44 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, "Twentieth Century American Drawing: Three Avant-Garde Generations" | 1976 |
| II.45 | Janie C. Lee Gallery, "Robert Motherwell " | 1976 |
| II.46 | Knoedler Contemporary Art, "Robert Motherwell: Recent Paintings and Collages" | 1976 |
| II.47 | Städtische Kunsthalle, "Robert Motherwell " | 1976 |
| II.48 | Galerie Brusberg, "André Emmerich bei Brusberg" | 1977 |
| II.49 | Galerie André Emmerich, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings" | 1977 |
| II.50 | The Royal Scottish Academy, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages 1941 -1977" | 1977 |
| II.51 | Admiral’s House, Vice-Presidential Mansion, "[Private Loan Exhibition]" | 1977 |
| II.52 | Janie C. Lee Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Collages, Drawings, Paintings" | 1978 |
| II.53 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell" | 1978 |
| II.54 | National Gallery of Art, "American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist" | 1978 |
| II.55 | Royal Academy of Arts, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages from 1941 to the Present" (1 of 4) | 1978 |
| II.56 | Royal Academy of Arts, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages from 1941 to the Present" (2 of 4) | 1978 |
| II.57 | Royal Academy of Arts, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages from 1941 to the Present" (3 of 4) | 1978 |
| II.58 | Royal Academy of Arts, "Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages from 1941 to the Present" (4 of 4) | 1978 |
| II.59 | Turske Gallery at Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais, "Paris Art Fair" | 1978 |
| II.60 | Brooke Alexander, "Robert Motherwell: Prints 1977-1979" | 1979 |
| II.61 | Janie C. Lee Gallery, "Robert Motherwell Drawings: A Retrospective, 1941 to the Present" | 1979 |
| II.62 | Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas, "David Smith / Robert Motherwell" | 1979 |
| II.63 | Pace Gallery, "5 Action Painters of the 50’s" | 1979 |
| II.64 | The William Benton Museum of Art, The University of Connecticut, "Robert Motherwell & Black " | 1979 |
| II.65 | Harcus Krakow Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" | 1980 |
| II.66 | City Art Centre and Fruitmarket Gallery, "American Abstract Expressionists" | 1981 |
| II.67 | Knoedler & Co, "Robert Motherwell & Black" | 1981 |
| II.68 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: A Selection from Recent Work" | 1982 |
| II.69 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (1 of 3) | 1983 |
| II.70 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (2 of 3) | 1983 |
| II.71 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (3 of 3) | 1983 |
| II.72 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (Corcoran Gallery of Art) | 1983 |
| II.73 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) | 1983 |
| II.74 | Albright-Knox Art Gallery, "Robert Motherwell" (Seattle Art Museum) | 1983 |
| II.75 | Knoedler & Co., "Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, David Smith" | 1983 |
| II.76 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: El Negro" | 1983 |
| II.77 | Provincetown Art Association and Museum, "Robert Motherwell: Tribute to James Joyce" | 1983 |
| II.78 | Provincetown Art Association and Museum, "Robert Motherwell: Tribute to James Joyce" (Long Point Gallery) | 1983 |
| II.79 | Visual Arts Museum, School of Visual Arts, "Robert Motherwell Drawings" | 1983 |
| II.80 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, "Robert Motherwell" (1 of 3) | 1984 |
| II.81 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, "Robert Motherwell" (2 of 3) | 1984 |
| II.82 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, "Robert Motherwell" (3 of 3) | 1984 |
| II.83 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: New Collages" | 1984 |
| II.84 | The Fort Worth Art Museum, "Robert Motherwell: Stephen’s Iron Crown and Related Works" | 1985 |
| II.85 | Walker Art Center, "Robert Motherwell: The Collaged Image" | 1985 |
| II.86 | Galería Joan Prats, "Robert Motherwell" | 1986 |
| II.87 | Galería Joan Prats, "Robert Motherwell" (Galería Juana Mordó) | 1986 |
| II.88 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: New Work" | 1986 |
| II.89 | Sala Pelaires, "Robert Motherwell / Jim Bird" | 1986 |
| II.90 | The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, "Connecticut Artists" | 1987 |
| II.91 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: Major Works from the 1980's" | 1987 |
| II.92 | The Museum of Modern Art, "Gifts of Works on Paper by Robert Motherwell" | 1987 |
| II.93 | Associated American Artists, "Robert Motherwell: Forty-Five Years of Printmaking" | 1988 |
| II.94 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: The Summer 1987 Collage Series: “The Red and Black” and Other Unexhibited Works" | 1988 |
| II.95 | Sert Gallery, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, "Robert Motherwell: Two Books" | 1989 |
| II.96 | Knoedler & Co. , "Robert Motherwell: New Work" | 1989 |
| II.97 | Marisa del Re Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Selected Drawings " | 1989 |
| II.98 | Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, "Robert Motherwell" | 1989 |
| II.99 | Waddington Graphics, "Robert Motherwell" | 1989 |
| II.100 | Artcurial Centre d’Art Plastique Contemporain, "Robert Motherwell: Peintures et Collages, 1969-1990" | 1990 |
| II.101 | Associated American Artists, "The Prints of Robert Motherwell: A Retrospective" | 1990 |
| II.102 | Knoedler & Company, "Selected Works By Gallery Artists" | 1990 |
| II.103 | Long Point Gallery, "Motherwell / Rothschild" | 1990 |
| II.104 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: From The Studio" | 1991 |
| II.105 | Galeria Joan Prats at the Basel Art Fair, "Robert Motherwell" | 1991 |
| II.106 | Museo Rufino Tamayo, "Robert Motherwell: The Open Door " | 1991 |
| II.107 | Museo Rufino Tamayo, "Robert Motherwell: The Open Door " (Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth) | 1991 |
| II.108 | The Armory, "Artists of the Hamptons " | 1992 |
| II.109 | Walker Art Center, "Robert Motherwell: Spanish Elegies" | 1992 |
| II.110 | Knoedler & Company, "Robert Motherwell: The Open Series" | 1993 |
| II.111 | Station Gallery, "Celebrating Long Point" | 1993 |
| II.112 | Knoedler & Co., "Robert Motherwell: At Five in the Afternoon / Elegies to the Spanish Republic" | 1994 |
| II.113 | Center for Contemporary Graphic Art, "The Prints of Robert Motherwell" | 1996 |
| II.114 | The Jewish Museum, "Recent Acquisitions, 1993-1995" | 1996 |
| II.115 | Mira Godard Gallery, "Robert Motherwell Prints" | 1997 |
| II.116 | Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: The Artist At Work (A Survey Of Prints And Related Unique Pieces" | 1997 |
| II.117 | Manny Silverman Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper 1950 -1991" | 1997 |
| II.118 | Knoedler & Co. , "Epic Painting: Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, Richard Pousette-Dart" | 1998 |
| II.119 | Long Fine Art, "Robert Motherwell: Provincetown Summers" | 1998 |
| II.120 | Dedalus Foundation, Inc., "Gallery Installation Views" (1 of 2) | 1999 |
| II.121 | Dedalus Foundation, Inc., "Gallery Installation Views" (2 of 2) | 1999 |
| II.122 | Manny Silverman Gallery, "Willem De Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell" | 1999 |
| II.123 | Manny Silverman Gallery, "Robert Motherwell Prints" | 2001 |
| II.124 | The Century Club, "Robert Motherwell " | 1987 |
| II.125 | Manny Silverman Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Themes & Variations Including the Dedalus Sketchbook" | 2002 |
| II.126 | Jerald Melberg Gallery, "Robert Motherwell: Works on Paper" | 2003 |
| II.127 | Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, "Red: An Exhibition of Prints by Robert Motherwell" | 2004 |
| II.128 | Knoedler & Co., "3 Classics: Motherwell, Frankenthaler, Stella" | 2004 |
| II.129 | Bobbie Greenfield Gallery , "Robert Motherwell: Africa Suite: Ink Drawings and Related Prints" | 2006 |