01/24/2024
Happy Birthday to Robert Motherwell who was born on this day, January 24, in Aberdeen, Washington.
“The Function of the modern artist is by definition the felt expression of modern reality…It is the values of our own epoch which we can find in past art.” - Robert Motherwell (1915-1991)
Motherwell, a key figure in Abstract Expressionism, was renowned for his emotionally intense, bold works, balancing spontaneity with control, and significantly influenced mid-20th century American art as both an artist and a theorist.
Motherwel’s engagement with symbolism and the subconscious is clear in his “Elegy to the Spanish Republic ‘’ series, reflecting on the Spanish Civil War. These paintings, with recurring black and white motifs, embody the conflict’s dichotomies—life and death, repression and freedom. Beyond literal representation, they capture the war’s essence and its impact on humanity, symbolizing universal themes of tragedy and resistance. This series, with over 100 paintings created between 1948 and 1967, stands as a poignant “lamentation or funeral song” for the war, highlighting the enduring struggle against fascism and the sorrow of loss.
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(1) Robert Motherwell, 1977, in his collage studio at his Greenwich, Conn., home. Photo by Horst P Horst/Condé Nast © Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. (2) “Third State: Robert Motherwell, Mozart Rondo,” 1990-1991. © Dedalus Foundation Archives. (3) Motherwell’s studio, Greenwich, Conn., November 1975. © 1982, Harry N. Abrams. (4) Interior with Pink N**e, 1951. © Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA. New York, NY. (5) Installation view of Motherwell’s 1965 Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 1982, Harry N. Abrams. (6) “Robert Motherwell: Second Edition, New and Revised” © 1982, Harry N. Abrams. (7) Robert Motherwell in his studio working on one of his ‘Elergies’ Photo by Bob Bigelow. (8) “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 100 (revised). 1963-75. © 1982, Harry N. Abrams. (9) Clipping of Two Figures (For Helen Frankenthaler) signed by Motherwell (ca. 1960s). © Dedalus Foundation Archives