Documents of Twentieth-Century Art

Robert Motherwell, Dore Ashton, Joan Banach

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9780520940512
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: History of Modern Art

Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), one of the leading American Abstract Expressionist painters, was also a theorist and exponent of the movement. His writing articulated the intent of the New York school —Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, and others—during a period when their work was often reviled for its departure from traditional representation. As founder of the Documents of Modern Art series (later renamed the Documents of Twentieth-Century Art), Motherwell gave modern artists a voice at a time when very few people understood their theories or work. This authoritative new edition of the artist's writings about art includes public lectures, essays, and interviews. Impeccably edited, with an informative introductory essay and rigorous annotation, it is illustrated with black-and-white images that elucidate Motherwell's writings. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 2007.
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), one of the leading American Abstract Expressionist painters, was also a theorist and exponent of the movement. His writing articulated the intent of the New York school —Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, F

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION DORE ASHTON
• NOTES ON MONDRIAN AND CHIRICO 1942
• REVIEW OF ART OF THIS CENTURY ca.1943
• NOTE ON MODERN ART ca.1943
• PREFACE TO APOLLINAIRE'S THE CUBIST PAINTERS 1944
• THE MODERN PAINTER'S WORLD 1944
• PLATE CAPTION IN ABSTRACT AND SURREALIST ART IN AMERICA 1944
• REVIEW OF CALDER'S THREE YOUNG RATS 1944
• PAINTERS’ OBJECTS 1944
• PERSONAL STATEMENT 1945
• PREFACE TO PAALEN’S FORM AND SENSE ca. 1945
• STATEMENT 1946
• BEYOND THE AESTHETIC 1946
• STATEMENT 1947
• PREFATORY NOTE TO JEAN ARP'S ON MY WAY 1948
• A TOUR OF THE SUBLIME 1948
• NOTICE TO APOLLINAIRE'S THE CUBIST PAIHTEBS 1949
• A PERSONAL EXPRESSION 1949
• REFLECTIONS ON PAINTING NOW 1949
• ABSTRACT ART AND THE REAL 1949
• BLACK OR WHITE 1950
• FOR DAVID SMITH 1950
• PREFACE TO DUTHUIT’S THE FAUVIST PAINTERS
• THE NEW YORK SCHOOL
• EXPRESSIONISM ca.1950
• NOTES ON CY TWOMBLY 1951
• SYMBOLISM 1954
• THE PAINTER AND THE AUDIENCE 1954
• OF FORM AND CONTENT ca. 1954
• THE ARTIST AND MODERN SOCIETY 1955
• THE ARTIST'S LIFE 1956
• NOTES ON BRADLEY WALKER TOMLIN 1957
• THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MIRÓ 1959
• LECTURE WITH CHARLES R. HULBECK 1959
• STATEMENT FOR “CONVERSATIONS WITH ARTISTS" 1960
• WHAT SHOULD A MUSEUM BE? 1961
• PAINTING AS EXISTENCE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID SYLVESTER 1962
• HOMAGE TO FRANZ KLINE 1962
• A PROCESS OF PAINTING 1964
• DAVID SMITH: A MAJOR AMERICAN SCULPTOR 1965
• PLATE CAPTION FOR THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM CATALOGUE 1966
• STATEMENT 1967
• ON JACKSON POLLOCK 1967
• ON ROTHKO 1967
• ON THE “LYRIC SUITE” 1969
• INTERVIEW AND LETTER TO MICHEL RAGON 1969
• STATEMENT ON THE “"OPEN” SERIES 1969
• MOTHERWELL MUSES 1969
• THOUGHTS ON DRAWING 1970
• ON THE HUMANISM OF ABSTRACTION: THE ARTIST SPEAKS 1970
• STATEMENTS BEFORE CONGRESS 1970
• THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN'S ART, AND MODERNISM 1970
• ON ROTHKO, A EULOGY 1970
• INTRODUCTION TO CABANNE’S
• 1971
• STATEMENT ON RADICALISM IN THE VISUAL ARTS 1971'
• A RECOLLECTION OF DAVID SMITH AND THE 1950s 1972
• INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNAL OF EUGÈNE DELACROIX 1972
• STATEMENT ON PICASSO 1974
• THE NEW YORK SCHOOL (AND SYMBOLISM) ca.1976
• ART AND REALITY ca.1976
• PARISIAN ARTISTS IN EXILE: NEW YORK 1939-45 1977
• PROVINCETOWN AND DAYS LUMBERYARD: A MEMOIR 1978
• WORDS OF THE PAINTER 1978
• PRESENTATION OF AN AWARD TO ERICK HAWKINS 1979
• THE INTERNATIONAL WORLD OF MODERNIST ART 1980
• HOTES FOR A JOYCE SYMPOSIUM 1980
• IN MEMORIAM: ANTHONY SMITH 1981
• JOURNAL ENTRY ca.1981
• REFLECTIONS ON ABSTRACT ART 1982
• FOREWORD TO WILLIAM C. SEITZ'S ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST PAINTING IN AMERICA 1983
• KAFKA'S VISUAL RECOIL: A NOTE (FOR DORE ASHTON) 1983
• ANIMATING RHYTHM 1984
• RESPONSE: WHEN IS A PAINTING FINISHED? 1985
• ON NOT BECOMING AN ACADEMIC 1986
• A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION 1986
• NOMINATION OF JASPER JOHNS TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS 1988
• BIBLIOGRAPHY COMPILED BY KATY ROGERS
• ILLUSTRATIONS
• INDEX