Welcome
Founded in 1981 by the artist Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), the Dedalus Foundation educates the public by fostering public understanding of modern art and modernism through its support of research, education, publications, and exhibitions in this field. (See the About Us link above for more detail.) Motherwell’s career spanned five decades. During that time he created some of the best-known paintings and collages of the twentieth century. He also wrote extensively about modern art and culture, and edited important texts about modern art that still serve generations of artists and students of art history. In 2011, as the Foundation celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, it remains dedicated both to enlarging the public’s understanding of modern art and modernism in general, and to affirming the significance of Motherwell’s legacy and achievement.
The Dedalus Foundation has established a prominent presence among art foundations, and as we work to educate the public we strive to maintain the high ethical standards of our founder, who was active as a lecturer, teacher, and thinker as well as an artist. The Foundation is an active participant in the Council of Artist Foundations. We have hosted meetings and seminars on topics such as copyright issues and the importance of archival materials, and we have opened our archives to scholars doing research on a wide variety of subjects. We are also frequently sought out by our peers to share our experiences in the development of our archives and art database, and of our ongoing catalogue raisonné of Robert Motherwell’s works.
The Foundation owns the copyrights to all of Motherwell’s works in all mediums—including his writings, both published and unpublished—and inherited all of his professional papers, notebooks, and archives. Following Motherwell’s death in 1991, the Foundation spent several years organizing, cataloguing, and conserving its archives and collection of art. Our archive contains almost 30,000 photographs documenting Motherwell’s life and work; letters by, and to Motherwell from peers and colleagues; films, videos, and audiotapes of interviews with Motherwell; and other documentation of his life and prolific career. The Foundation’s archive is open to scholars and researchers by appointment. (See the Archives link above for more information). The Foundation actively works with curators and museums worldwide to encourage and help develop exhibitions of Motherwell’s work, as well as exhibitions devoted to other modern artists, especially those with whom Motherwell is closely associated.
The Dedalus Foundation is sponsoring a catalogue raisonné of Robert Motherwell’s paintings, collages, and paintings on paper, which will be published by Yale University Press in autumn 2012. Owners of unique works they believe to be by Robert Motherwell are kindly asked to send information about those works so that they can be included in this definitive catalogue. (See the Catalogue Raisonné link for further information.) Works will be reproduced in color when possible, and the catalogue entries for each work will include detailed histories of ownership, exhibitions, and literature. In the course of its research for the catalogue raisonné, the Foundation has conducted numerous interviews with family, friends, and colleagues of the artist, and has produced a detailed chronology of his life.
Robert Motherwell was one of the most important graphic artists of the 20th century. A catalogue raisonné of the prints that Motherwell created was sponsored by the Foundation and published by the Walker Art Center in 2003; updates to entries appear on our website from time to time as new information is made available and confirmed through the Foundation’s research. (See the link above.)
The Foundation is frequently asked to consult with auction houses and art dealers around the world to confirm attributions and to ensure the correct cataloging of Motherwell’s art. While it is not the mission of the Foundation to police the art market, upon request the Foundation does offer its conditional opinion about artworks thought to be by Motherwell. This is done as a public service, free of charge. Of course, as with all opinions concerning authorship, given the nature of art history and research, provenance, science, new fact and circumstances arising over time, and other bodies of knowledge that may inform the authorship of works of art, the Foundation’s opinions are not warranties or guaranties or substitutes therefore. The procedures to follow for owners of works of art thought to be by Motherwell are found in the link to the Catalogue Raisonné, above.
The Dedalus Foundation has an active Grants Program, through which it has supported the activities of well over 100 institutions, and numerous individuals have received direct support through scholarships and fellowships. These range from graduating high school seniors in New York City public schools; an annual $20,000 Robert Motherwell book award; and up to $30,000 in fellowships for senior scholars. Annually, Dedalus invites over 150 of the top art schools and universities around the country to apply for fellowships for MFA students. From 1993 through 2010, the Foundation has granted over $6 million in cash grants, almost exclusively in the United States.
Beginning in 1994, in accordance with the artist’s wishes, the Foundation became actively engaged in placing works of art in museum collections through a gift/purchase program which allowed over 60 museums to acquire works of art by Motherwell at significant savings (a list may be found here). Through this program, several museums, such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Forth Worth Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Denver Art Museum have acquired in-depth holdings of Motherwell’s art that form a significant aspect of their collections, and which are frequently on view.