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 Baziotes, Jackson 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 News

Gallery Network

7 Questions for Dealer Bernard Jacobson on Why He’s Devoting Three Back-to-Back Exhibitions to Robert Motherwell’s Work

by Artnet Gallery Network
7 Questions for Dealer Bernard Jacobson on Why He’s Devoting Three Back-to-Back Exhibitions to Robert Motherwell’s Work
Law & Politics

The Brooklyn Gallerist Who Artist Deborah Roberts Is Suing for Copyright Infringement Has Fired Back, Calling It a Case of 'Punching Down'

by Eileen Kinsella
The Brooklyn Gallerist Who Artist Deborah Roberts Is Suing for Copyright Infringement Has Fired Back, Calling It a Case of 'Punching Down'
Law & Politics

The FBI Has Recovered a Crimson Robert Motherwell Painting Stolen 40 Years Ago by a Moving Man

by Eileen Kinsella
The FBI Has Recovered a Crimson Robert Motherwell Painting Stolen 40 Years Ago by a Moving Man

Robert Motherwell Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Robert Motherwell (7,271 results)
Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: October 7, 2017

Auction Closed

The Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Wave, 1989

Sale Date: October 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Three Forms II, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Forms II, 1989

Sale Date: October 12, 2017

Auction Closed

OCTAVIO PAZ-SUITE: ROBERT MOTHERWELL, 1988

Robert Motherwell

OCTAVIO PAZ-SUITE: ROBERT MOTHERWELL, 1988

Sale Date: September 26, 2017

Auction Closed

2 Robert Motherwell Mostly Mozart Festival Posters

Robert Motherwell

2 Robert Motherwell Mostly Mozart Festival Posters

Sale Date: September 27, 2017

Auction Closed

LYRIC SUITE, 1965

Robert Motherwell

LYRIC SUITE, 1965

Sale Date: October 6, 2017

Auction Closed

LYRIC SUITE, 1965

Robert Motherwell

LYRIC SUITE, 1965

Sale Date: October 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1967

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled (Ochre and Black), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Ochre and Black), 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1945

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1945

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled (Primal Ochre Sign on Blue), 1963

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Primal Ochre Sign on Blue), 1963

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Sale Date: September 14, 2017

Auction Closed

JEWISH CANDELABRA, 1952

Robert Motherwell

JEWISH CANDELABRA, 1952

Sale Date: September 27, 2017

Auction Closed

GYPSY COLLAGE NO. 4, 1982

Robert Motherwell

GYPSY COLLAGE NO. 4, 1982

Sale Date: September 27, 2017

Auction Closed

XX, 1985

Robert Motherwell

XX, 1985

Sale Date: September 27, 2017

Auction Closed

A Throw of the Dice, 1988

Robert Motherwell

A Throw of the Dice, 1988

Sale Date: September 16, 2017

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: August 30, 2017

Auction Closed

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt Portfolio), 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt Portfolio), 1990

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Gesture II (State I), 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II (State I), 1976–1977

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Gesture I (State I), 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture I (State I), 1976–1977

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Return in the book Three Poems (New York:..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Return in the book Three Poems (New York:..., 1987

Sale Date: September 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Je t'aime ce dessin me plait, 1956

Robert Motherwell

Je t'aime ce dessin me plait, 1956

Sale Date: September 16, 2017

Auction Closed

Black Rumble

Robert Motherwell

Black Rumble

Sale Date: September 16, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.