Recto, lower left: R. Motherwell \ 1966

Private collection

Private collection; [Swann Galleries, New York, December 2, 2021, lot 68, ill.]

This collage belongs to the 1966 Guardian series (see the Comments for C170), which takes its title from Motherwell’s use of paper from issues of the Manchester Guardian Weekly. The numbering of this series (originally composed of between twelve and fourteen collages) is erratic because Motherwell later revised and/or retitled some of the works in it, in 1973 and 1986. It is unknown if this particular collage originally had a number assigned to it; if so, that number has now been lost.