Exhibition History
This exhibition history is based on the List of Exhibitions in Robert Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné 1941-1991. It includes all exhibitions in which paintings, collages, and paintings on paper by Robert Motherwell were shown and is organized chronologically, with solo and group exhibitions listed separately within each year.
If an exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue, brochure, or checklist, that is indicated in parentheses, and such publications are listed here and not in the Bibliography. The catalogue raisonné numbers are given for all known paintings and collages in each exhibition; but neither drawings nor prints are listed. When a work in an exhibition could not be identified, it is listed under a descriptive title or the title given by the institution (preceded by “unidentified”) in the entry for that exhibition. Brackets are used to designate information about which positively certain.
Reviews of exhibitions are cited with the author’s name and the year of publication. This abbreviated form corresponds to the way publications are referred to throughout the catalogue raisonné, and allows the reader to locate the full citation in the Bibliography.
Significant exhibitions of drawings are listed and are noted by the phrase “drawings only,” at the end of the citation. When it is uncertain which works were included in an exhibition, the phrase “works unknown” appears at the end of the citation.
When an exhibition catalogue or brochure includes a text or statement by Motherwell, that is noted in parentheses within the citation. See the Bibliography for a complete list of Motherwell’s published writings as well as a comprehensive selection of his unpublished writings.
This selection of Robert Motherwell’s most important solo and group exhibitions is illustrated with installation photographs and other documents.
1944
Solo Exhibitions
Art of This Century, New York
Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Papiers Collés, Drawings, October 24-November 11, 1944
Art of This Century, New York, Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Papiers Collés, Drawings, October 24-November 11, 1944 (catalogue). See P3, P11-P14, P16, C3, C4, C7, C8, C11(?), C12, C13. Unidentified: 2. Equilibrium Abstracted; 4. The Ambiguity of Experience. Reviewed in Artnews 1944,...
Robert Motherwell. Preface by James Johnson Sweeney. New York: Art of This Century, 1944.
1946
Solo Exhibitions
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York
Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Collages, Drawings, January 2-19, 1946
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York, Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Collages, Drawings, January 2-19, 1946 (catalogue). See P15, P20, P23, P24, P33, P34, P46, C16, C19, C20, C23, C25. Unidentified: 1. Grey Abstraction with Mauve; 8. Figure on White; 11. Abstraction with Stripes; 18. Large...
Robert Motherwell: Paintings, Collages, Drawings. New York: Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, 1946.
Group Exhibitions
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Fourteen Americans, September 10-December 8, 1946
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Fourteen Americans, September 10-December 8, 1946; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., January 5-26, 1947; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Fla., February 7-March 7, 1947; Cincinnati Modern Art Society, March 20-April 17, 1947; San Francisco Museum of Art,...
Miller, Dorothy C., ed. Fourteen Americans. Entry ''Robert Motherwell'' (includes artists statements), pp. 34-38. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1946.
1947
Solo Exhibitions
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York
Motherwell, April 28-May 17, 1947
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York, Motherwell, April 28-May 17, 1947 (catalogue). See P36, P45-P48, P50-P53, P56, P58, C42, C47 (?). Unidentified: 3. Feminine Personage; 13. Dark Figure; 15. Figure with Red. Reviewed in Artnews 1947b, Devree 1947b, Greenberg 1947, McB[ride] 1947, and W[olf] 1947...
Motherwell (includes artists statements). New York: Samuel Kootz Gallery, 1947.
1948
Solo Exhibitions
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York
Paintings and Collages by Motherwell, May 10-29, 1948
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York, Paintings and Collages by Motherwell, May 10-29, 1948 (catalogue). See P64-P69, P76(?), P77, P80-P84, C45, C48-C50. Unidentified: 9. In Ochre and White; 15. Grey Woman; 17. In Brown and White; 20. Woolworths Worst. Reviewed in Artnews 1948, Greenberg 1948,...
Paintings and Collages by Motherwell. New York: Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, 1948.
1949
Solo Exhibitions
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York
Robert Motherwell Collages, 1943-49, October 4-22, 1949
Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, New York, Robert Motherwell Collages, 1943-49, October 4-22, 1949 (catalogue). See C1, C15, C19, C20, C41, C42, C44, C46, C48, C49, C52, C53. Reviewed in Devree 1949, G. 1949, and S[harp] 1949.
Robert Motherwell Collages, 1943-49 (includes artists statements). Introduction by Marianne Moore. New York: Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, 1949.