(1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined abstraction and established New York City as the center of the post-war art world.
Motherwell was also the unofficial spokesman of the New York School, writing, teaching, and lecturing on behalf of the movement, his fellow artists, and the merits of abstraction.
His work appears in museum collections around the world and is instantly recognizable for its boldness and black forms. Yet in addition to his impressive paintings, Motherwell is also revered as a printmaker. He is one of the most innovative and prolific printmakers of the 20th century. He was always searching for new techniques, whether at his own printmaking atelier or collaborating with others, to expand his ideas and express his aesthetic.
"Seaside Studio" is a paradigm of Motherwell's aesthetic, featuring bold, black shapes and linework against a powerful background of saturated red. However, this work represents a rare departure from Motherwell's commitment to abstraction by alluding to the building in the title of the work.
An homage to his "Sea Barn", this dynamic print recalls Motherwell's innate connection to Provincetown, MA., where the artist spent summers tucked away in the studio of his coastal home. Motherwell's most productive periods took place seaside, often drawing inspiration from the tranquil landscape. The artist would ultimately spend his last days in Provincetown, after cherishing nearly 50 years of summers by the sea.
With this evocative work in mind, it is not surprising that Motherwell's red prints are the most collected and sought-after works in his oeuvre.
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"Seaside Studio"
USA, 1990
Aquatint and etching on Whatman paper
Signed "RM" in pencil lower right
From an edition of 32
31.5"H 27.75"W (work)
Publisher: Artist; released by Waddington Graphics Ltd., London
Very good condition
Provenance: The Dedalus Foundation
