Robert Motherwell, the youngest member of the New York School of Abstract Expressionists, took a humanist approach to art. He had an affinity for literature, and a passion for writing, making him the unofficial spokesman for the abstract expressionism movement. Though many of his peers did not, Motherwell had an extensive formal education. He studied painting at the California School of Fine Arts, literature and philosophy at Stanford and Harvard, and art history at Columbia. His pictorial language took the form of drawings, collages, prints, and paintings ranging from intimate studies to monumental works on canvas.