Robert Motherwell (1915—1991) was one of the leading American artists of the twentieth century. He worked with a wide range of imagery, which reflected his acute awareness of the richness and complexity of human experience, and he was also the leading spokesperson for the Abstract-Expressionists.

The broad expressive range of his paintings includes the passionate and politically fraught Elegy to the Spanish Republic series, the serene and otherworldly imagery of the Opens, and a large body of spontaneously executed works. He was also one of the most important collagists of the twentieth century, and he created a large and highly regarded body of prints.

Motherwell was also an influential teacher and writer. He created the influential Documents of Modern Art series, which translated the writings of major European modernists, and throughout his life affirmed the importance of Modernism, which he considered a means of freedom from dogma and unquestioning acceptance of outdated social and cultural norms, and which entailed having the courage to face Reality in all its complexity and with all its contradictions – what he called a “gallant attempt at a more adequate and accurate view of things now.”

Read more about Robert Motherwell on his Biography page.