Untitled from the series Lyric Suite
Robert Motherwell
American, 1915–1991
1965
A small colored-ink on paper drawing in which Motherwell translates musical lyricism into a single bold horizontal gesture and scattered splatters to explore spontaneous mark-making and rhythm.
A broad, calligraphic black stroke cuts across the upper third of the pale paper, its edges breaking into energetic drips and tiny pinpoint dots while a few round ink blots hover lower left, creating a striking contrast between motion and quiet white space.
Part of the Lyric Suite series, the work condenses Abstract Expressionist concerns—action, chance, and musical structure—into an intimate drawing that showed how ink on paper could carry the same expressive force as large-scale painting.
Medium
Colored ink on paper
Dimensions
9 x 11 1/8" (23.1 x 28.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist in memory of Frank O'Hara
Accession
2380.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
