The Golden Fleece
Artist
Robert Motherwell
(American, 1915-1991)
CultureAmerican
Date1961-1974
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 68 x 204 in. (172.7 x 518.2 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated upper left: Motherwell 61
Credit LineBequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number89.49
Collections
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. It is an abstract painting in four colors: ochre, white, pink and blue. The title refers to the adventure of Jason and the Argonauts across the sun-filled Mediterranean and Black Seas. From the left, a field of ochre is intercepted by a explosive application of the paint; the free-form takes the viewer into a white area of the canvas, which ends with another ochre field. A small section of white opens the ochre field again, and a few brushes of blue paint are added. The last section is a pink field, with two blue lines at the top.Label TextRobert Motherwell American, 1915–1991 The Golden Fleece, 1961–1974 Oil on canvas This monumental canvas traces the journey of Jason and the Argonauts, a mythic band of heroes who sailed the Mediterranean searching for the gold-haired coat of a magical winged ram. Scan the painting from left to right to get a sense of their epic adventure. Moving your eyes from the ochre field to the surge of pink and blue provides the sense of crossing a vast expanse of earth, sea, and sky. The golden burst at the center, created by splashing paint onto the canvas, reminds us that every journey—artistic and heroic alike—is subject to chance. Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 89.49 ProvenanceWalter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York; Bequest of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1989. Exhibition History"Recent Work," Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, N.Y., December 4-29, 1962. *The painting was still at work in progress at this time; the black and green sections of the painting were painted over at a later date. "Robert Motherwell," Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., October 1 - November 27, 1983; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Calif., January 4 - March 4, 1984; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Calif., April 12 - June 3, 1984; Seattle Art Museum, Wash., June 21 - August 5, 1984; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., September 8 - October 28, 1984; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, N.Y., December 1, 1984 - February 3, 1985. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. Published ReferencesSidney Tillim, "Month in Review," _Arts Magazine_ 37 (January 1963): 40-42. Thomas W. Styron, "Major Robert Motherwell Painting on Loan," _Chrysler Museum at Norfolk Bulletin_ 7 (May 1978): not paged. H. H. Arnason, _Robert Motherwell_ (New York: Abrams, rev. ed. 1982), 11, 61, 62, 64, 66, 70, 144-145. ISBN: 081091333X Douglas G. Schultz, Dore Ashton, and Jack D. Flam, _Robert Motherwell_, exh. cat., Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., 1983, 38-39. ISBN: 0896593878 Harry F. Gaugh, "Elegy for an Exhibition," _ARTnews_ 85 (March 1985): 71-75. Nathan Goldstein, _Design and Composition_ (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1989), 221, fig. 10.45. ISBN: 0131999109 Marcelin Pleynet, _Robert Motherwell_, trans. Mary Ann Caws, (Paris: Daniel Papierski, 1989), 50, 124-125. ISBN: 9993117404 Jack Flam, _Motherwell_ (Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones Polígrafa, S.A., 1991), 127, no. 54. ISBN: 8434306506 Miriam Seidel, "Wild Gentleman," _Applause_ 17 (August 1991): 13-15. Mary Ann Caws, _Robert Motherwell: What Art Holds_ (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 59, 60. ISBN: 0231096445 Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 228-229, no. 140. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6 Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 80, fig. 92. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
