Robert Motherwell

(American, 1915–1991)

Robert Motherwell was an American artist and seminal Abstract Expressionist painter. Influenced by the automatic writing and drawing prescribed by the Surrealists, Motherwell’s practice was characterized by an intuitive approach to painting. He is perhaps best known for his iconic Elegy to the Spanish Republic series, which consists of 150 variants of black forms on white backgrounds. “Painting is a medium in which the mind can actualize itself; it is a medium of thought,” he once reflected. “Thus painting, like music, tends to become its own content.” Born on January 24, 1915 in Aberdeen, WA, Motherwell moved to New York to study at Columbia University with the art historian Meyer Schapiro. It was Schapiro's encouragement that initially led the artist to start making paintings. During the early 1940s, he entered a milieu of young artists that included William BaziotesJackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. Motherwell later taught Cy Twombly and Robert Rauschenberg at the famed Black Mountain College. After returning to New York, he met the painter Helen Frankenthaler in 1957, and they were married three years later. During their 13 year marriage, the two artists’ mutual interest in the poetry of abstraction fueled one another’s work. Motherwell died on July 16, 1991 in Cape Cod, MA. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate Modern in London, among others.

Robert Motherwell Artworks

Robert Motherwell (7,271 results)
Primal Sign IV, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign IV, 1980

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Sale Date: October 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: October 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: October 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Africa 9, from Africa series, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 9, from Africa series, 1970

Sale Date: October 24, 2017

Auction Closed

BARCELONA ELEGY TO THE SPANISH REPUBLIC..., 1991

Robert Motherwell

BARCELONA ELEGY TO THE SPANISH REPUBLIC..., 1991

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

DELOS (W.A.C. 525), 1991

Robert Motherwell

DELOS (W.A.C. 525), 1991

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRÈCE (SEE W.A.C 480-485)..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRÈCE (SEE W.A.C 480-485)..., 1989

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

THREE POEMS (W.A.C. 388-398, 400-414) (26..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

THREE POEMS (W.A.C. 388-398, 400-414) (26..., 1988

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

THREE POEMS (W.A.C. 387.1-.27) (27 works), 1988

Robert Motherwell

THREE POEMS (W.A.C. 387.1-.27) (27 works), 1988

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND (W.A.C. 276), 1952

Robert Motherwell

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND (W.A.C. 276), 1952

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

AT THE EDGE (W.A.C. 345), 1984

Robert Motherwell

AT THE EDGE (W.A.C. 345), 1984

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

RUNNING ELEGY II, YELLOW STATE (W.A.C. 321), 1983

Robert Motherwell

RUNNING ELEGY II, YELLOW STATE (W.A.C. 321), 1983

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

RED SEA III (W.A.C. 316), 1983

Robert Motherwell

RED SEA III (W.A.C. 316), 1983

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

EL NEGRO (W.A.C. 308.1-.21) (19 lithographs), 1983

Robert Motherwell

EL NEGRO (W.A.C. 308.1-.21) (19 lithographs), 1983

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

RED SEA I (W.A.C. 193), 1976

Robert Motherwell

RED SEA I (W.A.C. 193), 1976

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

LINES FOR ST. GALLEN; AND HERMITAGE..., 1971–1975

Robert Motherwell

LINES FOR ST. GALLEN; AND HERMITAGE..., 1971–1975

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

AUTOMATISM A (W.A.C. 19), 1966

Robert Motherwell

AUTOMATISM A (W.A.C. 19), 1966

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (W.A.C. 52 & 53) (2 works), 1966

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (W.A.C. 52 & 53) (2 works), 1966

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

A THROW OF THE DICE #2 AND UNTITLED (WALKER..., 1963

Robert Motherwell

A THROW OF THE DICE #2 AND UNTITLED (WALKER..., 1963

Sale Date: October 23, 2017

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna, 1976

After Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna, 1976

Sale Date: October 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Sale Date: October 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Composition, 1947

Robert Motherwell

Composition, 1947

Sale Date: October 21, 2017

Auction Closed