American painter, printmaker, and collage artist. Motherwell studied painting at the California School of Fine Arts, received a BA in philosophy from Stanford University, and studied painting at Harvard and Columbia. Through lectures and publications, he furthered the Abstract Expressionism movement. He was also prominent in the world of poetry and philosophy and forged close friendships with European surrealists. His works feature simple shapes, bold color contrasts, and a dynamic balance between restrained and boldly gestural brushstrokes. They reflect not only art history, philosophy, and contemporary art, but are influenced by his own experiences, contemporary events, and the human conditions of life, death, oppression, and revolution.