Robert Motherwell: Textbook Aquarius?

Robert Motherwell: Textbook Aquarius?

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed it was Robert Motherwell’s birthday. He was born on January 24, 1915, which makes him an Aquarius sun in astrology. I laughed to myself as I realized his life and work perfectly reflect the common traits of an Aquarius. Since it’s Aquarius season now, and Motherwell is a legend in my world, I thought it would be fun to do an article comparing his role in the history of art to the characteristics of an Aquarius. Regardless of your own personal views on the validity of astrology (I personally swear by it), consider this article a way to learn more about one of the Zodiac’s most quirky signs while simultaneously getting a crash course on Robert Motherwell (1915-1991). Who knows, if this goes well, I might do an article for all 12 zodiac signs.

Below are the common attributes of an Aquarius alongside facts about Motherwell for comparison. Enjoy!

1. Aquarius is known as ‘the water-bearer’ but is an air sign. Air, one of the four cardinal elements in the Zodiac, represents intellect and the mind. The water-bearer symbolism refers to an Aquarian’s propensity for sharing their ideas far and wide. Imagine someone pouring their knowledge into the stream of human consciousness and you’ll understand the essence of Aquarius. Aquarians are also typically visionaries who want to recruit others for their causes and revolutions. They excel at uniting people under a common cause.

Robert Motherwell was nothing if not a top-tier intellectual. Although he exhibited artistic leanings as a child, he opted for academic pursuits as a young man. He studied at Stanford for undergrad and then earned a PhD from Harvard. Both of his degrees were in philosophy, and he specialized in aesthetics (unsurprising). He later studied further under art historian, Meyer Schapiro, at Columbia University once he had settled in New York.

In case you’re not an ABEX fan girl like myself, Robert Motherwell is often lauded as one of Abstract Expressionism’s founding fathers. He was not only one of America’s first abstract painters, but he is also widely considered a leader of the movement as a whole. His academic background disposed him to writing many of the New York School’s guiding manifestos, and he became a de facto spokesman for an otherwise unruly bunch. I think being a unifying voice for the likes of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock demonstrates some major leadership skills (IYKYK).

2. Aquarians are highly innovative and unafraid to embrace new technologies or bust through the barriers of tradition. They can come off as weird, strange or almost alien because of it, but their ideas are wonderful for it, too.

Motherwell was one of the first artists in the New York School to use automatism in his art. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, automatism refers to art that is created without the involvement of the thinking mind or even the trained hand. Surrealists in Europe had been using automatism in their work years prior, and Motherwell was aware of this, but he brought it to America and also took it to new heights. His most famous automatist series was known as The Lyric Suite. These works on Japanese rice paper were painted nearly in succession with cheap, American-made ink. Motherwell let his hand loose on the paper while he listened to Alban Berg’s string quartet of the same name. Suspending all thought, Motherwell put the ink down and let it bleed without intervention all over each page. He had purchased 1000 sheets of rice paper and planned to paint each one, but he abruptly stopped at 600 after learning his friend, the sculptor, David Smith, had been killed in a car accident. This series, long kept private, now has a cult following among Motherwell’s admirers and collectors. It still feels contemporary today.

3. Aquarians are known to be aloof or cold. They are often accused of caring more about the collective than the individual. This is due to their strong vision for society, but of course it often causes them to miss the forest for the trees, which can complicate relationships.

Robert Motherwell was married 4 times, so you can hazard the guess that personal relationships weren’t his strong suit. But hey, he certainly tried.

Robert Motherwell and his third wife, Helen Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler was also a star painter of the ABEX era. The two were married from 1958 to 1971, and were most likely the loves of each other’s lives, despite the ultimate failure of the marriage.

5. Aquarians are talented at mastering complex systems but also making them their own. This is part of what makes them so innovative and revolutionary.

While Motherwell is most celebrated for his larger-than-life abstract paintings, he was equally accomplished in the field of printmaking. Many of his ABEX colleagues made prints, but Motherwell took it a step further, working with master printers and even establishing a full-fledged print studio at his Greenwich, CT home.

Robert Motherwell’s home in Greenwich, CT.

Elegy Fragment II, 1985, Etching and Aquatint, 34 1/2 x 24 inches.

He also established a foundation to carry on his legacy. Motherwell founded the Dedalus Foundation in 1981, a full ten years prior to his death. He set it up with a $25 million endowment and 1000 of his artworks. The foundation is still alive and well today, selling his remaining works through a handful of select galleries (Jerald Melberg Gallery being one of them) and awarding grants to young artists and writers all over the world.

Fun Fact: The Dedalus Foundation is named after Stephen Dedalus, a key character in the novels of James Joyce, said to be the author’s alter ego. Motherwell read James Joyce on a train during his grand tour of Europe as a very young man, which spurred a life-long obsession with the author and his writings. Countless series and works by Motherwell contain references to Joyce in their imagery and titles. Ready for the fun part? James Joyce was an Aquarius sun, too.

Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110, 1961, Acrylic with Graphite and Charcoal on Canvas, 82 x 114 inches. Collection of the Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY.

So there you have it. Are you convinced Robert Motherwell is a textbook Aquarius? If you don’t know much about him and his work outside of this article, I encourage you to do some research and delve into his writings. He really was an exceptional, singular voice in an already stellar group of artists who seemingly descended on New York and changed the art world forever. If you want to see Motherwell’s work in person, check your local museum if you’re in a major city or come by Jerald Melberg Gallery if you’re near Charlotte. His work and mind are endlessly fascinating landscapes to traverse, and luckily for us, he’s left plenty of material for us to explore.