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The Celtic Stone is dominated by a purple-maroon rectangle with uneven edges. The ink application is inconsistent and lighter on the left side. Three white vertical lines hang down from the top and terminate in a horizontal line one-quarter the way up from the bottom. Across the top and right edges of the paper is a narrow swath of mustard color, mirrored by a thin and faint line in purple along the left and bottom edges. The band of mustard and the purple lines serve to frame the inner core.
This 1971 lithograph is one of three that are visually similar, contain “stone” in the title, and refer to Motherwell’s Scottish heritage. The other two, The Black Douglas Stone and The Aberdeen Stone, relate to specific places in Scotland, whereas Celtic is a more generic term. Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and on his first trip to Europe in 1935 he visited Motherwell, Scotland, a small village southeast of Glasgow. While these titles imply an autobiographical element, they also reiterate the obvious: that the prints were made with a lithographic stone.
A prolific printmaker who produced over 500 editions, Motherwell frequently worked in series and translated imagery from his paintings into prints. The “stone” threesome relates directly to his Open paintings, which are characterized by thin rectangles superimposed on a color field. Some critics have identified the shape as trapeze-like, while others favor an association with windows. Begun in the late 1960s, the Open compositions derived their inspiration from the simple placement of a small canvas leaning against a larger one. Regardless, the image suggests a spatial interplay between the swing/window/canvas and the field of color, which it disrupts.
The Open motif is delicately and firmly drawn in stark contrast to the brusqueness of other areas, and to the Elegies. The almost soaked-in quality of the maroon rectangle may reflect the painting style of Helen Frankenthaler, who was married to Motherwell from 1958 to 1971. As one of the few women Abstract Expressionists, she was recognized for her stained paintings on unprimed canvases that influenced Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and other color field painters.
The mood of The Celtic Stone is dark and slightly foreboding, which may reflect the dissolution of his marriage to Frankenthaler or be a reference to his Scottish background. Motherwell liked the mystery of his Open series, and commenting upon an interpretation by art historian H.H. Arnason, the artist said, “He also makes clear that he is fully aware that for me the window idea is mainly a poetic metaphor; that I will not define. … still, my associations are not necessarily those of another observer, though I hope that my felt content is. The felt content is colorful and sensuous, and in spatial depth, though the austere surface drawing is a distilled and essential counterpoint.” [2]
Notes:
[1] Motherwell quoted in Jack Flam, “A Special Genius: Robert Motherwell’s Graphics,” Tyler Graphics: The Extended Image, Exhibition catalogue (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1987), 52, quoted in Siri Engberg, Robert Motherwell: The Complete Prints, 1940–1991, Catalogue Raisonné (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2003), 19.
[2] Motherwell, “Statement on the ‘Open’ Series,” Art Now: New York 1, no. 5 (May 1969), unpaginated, quoted in Dore Ashton, ed., The Writings of Robert Motherwell (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007), 243–244.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History1976
Twentieth Century American Print Collection opening
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976)
2007
Abstract/Object
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (2/27/2007-6/17/2007)
2022
Substrata: The Spirit of Collage in 76 Years of Art
Reynolda House Musuem of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/18/2022-7/31/22)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
The Celtic Stone
Artist
Robert Motherwell
(1915 - 1991)
Date1970-1971
Mediumthree-color lithograph, white wove Rives BFK paper
DimensionsFrame: 42 1/2 x 30 7/8 in. (108 x 78.4 cm)
Image: 31 7/8 x 23 in. (81 x 58.4 cm)
Paper: 41 1/4 x 29 1/2 in. (104.8 x 74.9 cm)
SignedR. Motherwell
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
Copyright© 2021 Dedalus Foundation, Inc. / Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY. Pubblished by Universal Limited Art Editions
Object number1983.2.13
DescriptionWith the exception of Robert Motherwell, most of the Abstract Expressionists eschewed printmaking. Instead, they preferred working alone, on a large scale, with loaded brushes and animated gestures. For Motherwell, prints provided an alternative; he loved paper and collaboration—both fundamental aspects of modern printmaking. In 1965, he began working with master printer Irwin Hollander, and he later described how they worked together: “So the printer and I struck up an agreement which was as much to my advantage psychologically as it was to his economically. The psychological advantage lay in cooperation and sociability of working with a craftsman, choosing the size of the paper or of a stone, conversing, discussing, and having a working relationship with another human being.” [1]The Celtic Stone is dominated by a purple-maroon rectangle with uneven edges. The ink application is inconsistent and lighter on the left side. Three white vertical lines hang down from the top and terminate in a horizontal line one-quarter the way up from the bottom. Across the top and right edges of the paper is a narrow swath of mustard color, mirrored by a thin and faint line in purple along the left and bottom edges. The band of mustard and the purple lines serve to frame the inner core.
This 1971 lithograph is one of three that are visually similar, contain “stone” in the title, and refer to Motherwell’s Scottish heritage. The other two, The Black Douglas Stone and The Aberdeen Stone, relate to specific places in Scotland, whereas Celtic is a more generic term. Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and on his first trip to Europe in 1935 he visited Motherwell, Scotland, a small village southeast of Glasgow. While these titles imply an autobiographical element, they also reiterate the obvious: that the prints were made with a lithographic stone.
A prolific printmaker who produced over 500 editions, Motherwell frequently worked in series and translated imagery from his paintings into prints. The “stone” threesome relates directly to his Open paintings, which are characterized by thin rectangles superimposed on a color field. Some critics have identified the shape as trapeze-like, while others favor an association with windows. Begun in the late 1960s, the Open compositions derived their inspiration from the simple placement of a small canvas leaning against a larger one. Regardless, the image suggests a spatial interplay between the swing/window/canvas and the field of color, which it disrupts.
The Open motif is delicately and firmly drawn in stark contrast to the brusqueness of other areas, and to the Elegies. The almost soaked-in quality of the maroon rectangle may reflect the painting style of Helen Frankenthaler, who was married to Motherwell from 1958 to 1971. As one of the few women Abstract Expressionists, she was recognized for her stained paintings on unprimed canvases that influenced Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and other color field painters.
The mood of The Celtic Stone is dark and slightly foreboding, which may reflect the dissolution of his marriage to Frankenthaler or be a reference to his Scottish background. Motherwell liked the mystery of his Open series, and commenting upon an interpretation by art historian H.H. Arnason, the artist said, “He also makes clear that he is fully aware that for me the window idea is mainly a poetic metaphor; that I will not define. … still, my associations are not necessarily those of another observer, though I hope that my felt content is. The felt content is colorful and sensuous, and in spatial depth, though the austere surface drawing is a distilled and essential counterpoint.” [2]
Notes:
[1] Motherwell quoted in Jack Flam, “A Special Genius: Robert Motherwell’s Graphics,” Tyler Graphics: The Extended Image, Exhibition catalogue (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1987), 52, quoted in Siri Engberg, Robert Motherwell: The Complete Prints, 1940–1991, Catalogue Raisonné (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2003), 19.
[2] Motherwell, “Statement on the ‘Open’ Series,” Art Now: New York 1, no. 5 (May 1969), unpaginated, quoted in Dore Ashton, ed., The Writings of Robert Motherwell (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007), 243–244.
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History1976
Twentieth Century American Print Collection opening
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976)
2007
Abstract/Object
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (2/27/2007-6/17/2007)
2022
Substrata: The Spirit of Collage in 76 Years of Art
Reynolda House Musuem of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/18/2022-7/31/22)
Published References
Status
Not on view