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Two black, abstract shapes against a white background dominate this wide, horizontal painting. One column-like, black shape is to our left, about a quarter of the way in from the left edge of the canvas. The bottom edge of the black form is jagged and an irregular bump protrudes at the center of the right side of that shape. The other black form fills most of the right half of the composition. That shape is made of two forms resembling very fat Ps with spines that curve around the protruding bumps, to our right. There are small spatters and dribbles of black paint around some of the shapes that only could have been made by striking the canvas with some force. The white background is outlined near the inner edges of the canvas, creating a subtle frame that contains the massive black shapes. Vertical lines, most of them smudged or faint, create vertical sections across the composition. A blurred, steel-blue line appears in the left most column. Thin washes of smoky blue and rose pink spread in areas across the composition. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right, “R. Motherwell 1978.”

Robert Motherwell

Reconciliation Elegy, 1978

East Building, Concourse — Gallery Lobby

Medium

acrylic on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 304.8 x 924.2 cm (120 x 363 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Collectors Committee

Accession Number

1978.20.1

Artists / Makers

Robert Motherwell (artist) American, 1915 - 1991

Image Use

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Inscription

lower right: R. Motherwell / 1978

Provenance

Commissioned 1978 for NGA's East Building.

Associated Names

Motherwell, Robert

Bibliography

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 199, repro.

1980: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: no. 64, color repro.

1988: Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 194, no. 74, color repro.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 238, repro.