Spanish Elegy I

Alongside such great artists such as Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell is considered one of the key progenitors of Abstract Expressionism. His bold, abstract, and often intuitive style and approach to painting not only garnered him international acclaim during his lifetime, but has also helped establish his standing in art historical canon, as the presence of his work in a multitude of national and international collections can attest.Born on January 24 in Aberdeen, Washington, Motherwell’s artistic talent was recognized early on; at the tender age of 11 he was awarded a fellowship to the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. After temporarily studying painting at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, he went on to complete formal training at Stanford University, where he ultimately received his B.A. Motherwell subsequently undertook graduate studies at both Harvard University in Cambridge, and Columbia University in New York City (where he studied the history of art with Meyer Schapiro)—his extensive experience in academia reflects the intelligence and contemplativeness that he came to be known for, both in his personality and his p

New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, USA