Robert Motherwell

Galerie Schmela, Düsseldorf
Acquired by the present owner from the above circa 1974

Paris, Galerie Heinz Berggruen, Robert Motherwell Collages, 1958-1960, 1961, n.p., illustrated in color
Düsseldorf, Galerie Schmela, Conrad Marca-Relli Malerei und Robert Motherwell Collagen, December 1961 - January 1962
Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Baden Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Surrealität Bildrealität, 1924-1974: In den unzähligen Bildern des Lebens, December 1974 - April 1975, cat. no. 250, p. 116, illustrated
Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf; Stockholm, Galleriet Kulturhuset; Vienna, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Robert Motherwell, September 1976 - April 1977, cat. no. 27, p. 103, illustrated

Barbara Catoir, "Uberwindung der weisen Fläche: Ein Gespräch mit Robert Motherwell," Das Kunstwerk 6, No. 24, November 1976, p. 15, illustrated
Karl Ruhrberg, Alfred Schmela: Galerist Wegbereiter der Avantgarde, Cologne, 1996, pp. 187 and n.p., illustrated
Jack Flam, Katy Rogers and Tim Clifford, eds., Robert Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1941-1991, Vol. 1: Essays and References, New Haven, 2012, p. 115, illustrated in color
Jack Flam, Katy Rogers and Tim Clifford, eds., Robert Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1941-1991, Vol. 3: Collages and Paintings on Paper and Paperboard, New Haven, 2012, cat. no. C122, p. 88, illustrated in color

This work is in good condition overall. There is a slight undulation to the sheet, inherent to the artist's working method. The edges of the sheet exhibit some light discoloration and rubbing to the paint surface, which is visible under close inspection. There is some hairline craquelure in the white paint, in the peach paint and at the top of the blue painted portion. The irregularities in the surface texture appear original due to the bits of collaged paper. The sheet is hinged verso to the matte along the top and bottom edges. Framed under Plexiglas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

“Helen and I have both done a great deal of first rate work, perhaps 70 to 80 pictures between us, of all sizes and sorts—being with her has released something pent up and frustrated in me for years, and I felt an endless stream of things in me for years to come—it’s rather staggering in a way, our whole enterprise together, for me who has a sharply existentialist view of reality, surprising to be in such optimistic circumstances and I can hardly keep up with the changes." - Robert Motherwell, 1960