Skip to content

The Art Gallery of Ontario exhibits the drawings of Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell - Three Clowns

Robert Motherwell
Three Clowns, 1945
Gouache and ink on paper 28.6 x 36.8 cm
Purchased with funds from an Anonymous Donor, with support from the Dedalus Foundation, 1998 98/79 © Estate of Robert Motherwell

AGO Ontario exhibits the drawings of Robert Motherwell ‘Painting on Paper: The Drawings of Robert Motherwell’ exhibits 55 works from the Art Gallery of Ontario collection, from June 25 through December 11, 2011.]]>

Source: Art Gallery of Ontario / theartwolf.com

Robert Motherwell (1915 – 1991) was one of the most important figures in the development of Abstract Expressionism. He is widely known for his “black on white” paintings, such as his “Elegies for the Spanish Republic” series. However, “drawings played an essential role in the gestation and evolution of his central themes and core visual ideas”, as the Art Gallery of Ontario notes in a press release.

Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO’s Director and CEO, declared that ‘Painting on Paper: The Drawings of Robert Motherwell’ “gives visitors the opportunity to explore the mind and works of Motherwell“, adding that the exhibition offers “an in-depth look at the artistic process and evolution of one of the movement’s major figures“.

The Art Gallery of Ontario houses one of the finest collections of works by Robert Motherwell, having acquired 74 drawings and paintings by the artist in 1998. As Brenda Rix, AGO’s assistant curator of prints and drawings, says, “Motherwell aims to express human feelings and the human spirit through gestural lines and bold forms”.

Related content

Willem de Kooning: the figure: movement & gesture (exhibition, 2011)

Follow us on:

The Art Gallery of Ontario exhibits the drawings of Robert Motherwell