Robert Motherwell: In the Studio (BERNARD JACOBSO)

In 1975, in the midst of a series of European retrospectives, Robert Motherwell (1915–91) hired a young man named John E. Scofield to be his first full-time studio assistant. Now, in honor of Motherwell’s centenary, Scofield―an artist and designer himself―has written a poignant and tender memoir which conveys the life and thought of a leader of the Abstract Expressionist school a generation ago. Intensely personal, the narrative brings the 1970s to life: Scofield writes of art, intellectual conversation, road trips and male bonding with affection and honesty. Robert Motherwell: In the Studio discusses the booze they preferred, the cars he drove, the artists he admired and the New York art scene that swirled around him. Well told and evocative, this page-turner offers a unique insight into a pivotal figure of American painting.