Label Text
Motherwell was one of the forefathers of Abstract Expressionism. His large-scale, intense works bridged the gap between “Action” painters like Jackson Pollack and Color-Field painting like that of Mark Rothko. Throughout his career as a painter and printmaker, Motherwell retained a lifelong interest in collage, incorporating ripped and paint-soaked paper into many of his works. By including bits of everyday life, in this case the wrapping from a chocolate bar, he felt he could bring a sense of familiarity into the abstract space of his art. Motherwell intended the wrapper to function not as a recognizable pop culture artifact, but as a brilliant blue square set in contrast to the bright orange that dominates most of the work.
Exhibition History"The Abstract Tradition in American Art," Des Moines Art Center, Dec. 7, 1991 - Feb. 23, 1992
"The Painter's Music, The Musician's Art," The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Apr. 20 - June 23, 1991
"Selected Works from the Des Moines Art Center's Permanent Collection," organized by the National Bank of Waterloo, Waterloo Municipal Galleries, Oct. 24 - Nov. 20, 1983; (Circulated to: Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Jan. 15 - Feb. 26, 1984; Muscatine Art Center, Apr. 1 - May 13, 1984; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, May 27 - July 1, 1984; Sioux City Art Center, July 15 - Aug. 26, 1984)
"American Museum - An Experience in Community," organized by the International Communication Agency, Washington, D.C.; (Circulated to: Bucharest, Romania, Oct. 13 - Nov. 1, 1981; Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca, Romania, May 25 - June 13, 1982; Shipka Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria, July 27 - Aug. 19, 1982)
American art from a group of midwestern museums, Vice President's residence, Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1977 - Mar. 15, 1978
"The Sixteenth New Accessions USA - 1976," Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Oct. 23 - Dec. 4, 1976
Published ReferencesDMAC Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1974, ill.
"Selected Works from the Des Moines Art Center's Permanent Collection," Waterloo Municipal Galleries, 1983, exh. cat. no.28, color ill.
"The Sixteenth New Accessions USA - 1976," Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1976, exh. cat. ill.
DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.159 & 160, b/w ill. pl.98, p.160
Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1915. He obtained a bacherlor's degree in philosophy at Stanford University and continued his studies in philosophy and art at Harvard, Columbia, and Grenoble University in France. During the early 1940's he came into contact with many of the European Surrealist artists who were livining in exile in New York. He soon decided to devote himself professionially to painting and met with members of the New York School (Abstract Expressionists). As the most articulate member of the group he became its leading spokesman.
Source: Bulletin, September-October 1974.
Motherwell was one of the forefathers of Abstract Expressionism. His large-scale, intense works bridged the gap between “Action” painters like Jackson Pollack and Color-Field painting like that of Mark Rothko. Throughout his career as a painter and printmaker, Motherwell retained a lifelong interest in collage, incorporating ripped and paint-soaked paper into many of his works. By including bits of everyday life, in this case the wrapping from a chocolate bar, he felt he could bring a sense of familiarity into the abstract space of his art. Motherwell intended the wrapper to function not as a recognizable pop culture artifact, but as a brilliant blue square set in contrast to the bright orange that dominates most of the work.
Exhibition History"The Abstract Tradition in American Art," Des Moines Art Center, Dec. 7, 1991 - Feb. 23, 1992
"The Painter's Music, The Musician's Art," The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Apr. 20 - June 23, 1991
"Selected Works from the Des Moines Art Center's Permanent Collection," organized by the National Bank of Waterloo, Waterloo Municipal Galleries, Oct. 24 - Nov. 20, 1983; (Circulated to: Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Jan. 15 - Feb. 26, 1984; Muscatine Art Center, Apr. 1 - May 13, 1984; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, May 27 - July 1, 1984; Sioux City Art Center, July 15 - Aug. 26, 1984)
"American Museum - An Experience in Community," organized by the International Communication Agency, Washington, D.C.; (Circulated to: Bucharest, Romania, Oct. 13 - Nov. 1, 1981; Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca, Romania, May 25 - June 13, 1982; Shipka Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria, July 27 - Aug. 19, 1982)
American art from a group of midwestern museums, Vice President's residence, Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1977 - Mar. 15, 1978
"The Sixteenth New Accessions USA - 1976," Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Oct. 23 - Dec. 4, 1976
Published ReferencesDMAC Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1974, ill.
"Selected Works from the Des Moines Art Center's Permanent Collection," Waterloo Municipal Galleries, 1983, exh. cat. no.28, color ill.
"The Sixteenth New Accessions USA - 1976," Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1976, exh. cat. ill.
DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.159 & 160, b/w ill. pl.98, p.160
DimensionsFrame: 54 1/8 × 42 1/8 × 1 3/8 in. (137.5 × 107 × 3.5 cm)
Image (visible): 47 5/16 × 35 5/16 in. (120.2 × 89.7 cm)
Image (visible): 47 5/16 × 35 5/16 in. (120.2 × 89.7 cm)
Accession Number 1974.16
Classificationspainting
Copyright© Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
SignedR Motherwell (u,l graphite)
Inscriptions16 Nov 73 (u,l graphite)
Suchard Bittra (candy label in image below center)
(on verso)
Suchard on Orange #4 16 Nov. 1973 PH 39-1
48" x 36"
Acrylic and Paper on ? Board
ProvenanceArtist. (Blum/Helman Gallery, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 1974]
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