Robert Motherwell at 100: Gregory Gilbert reflects on the artist’s centenary

Motherwell’s Elegies in particular have political dimension, which has yet to be fully studied. They are a direct reference to the destruction of the Spanish Republic by Francisco Franco’s fascist regime, which was supported by the policies of the US government during the Cold War. Through Meyer Schapiro, Motherwell met political figures affiliated with Partisan Review, who actively supported the cause of the Spanish Republicans. Moreover, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Motherwel