Orange Suchard Bittra #4

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 just a recognizable cultural 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)

Accession Number 1974.16

Classificationspainting

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]