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)
Djarjum, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Djarjum, 1975

Sale Date: April 18, 2017

Auction Closed

Black Sounds, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Black Sounds, 1984

Sale Date: April 18, 2017

Auction Closed

Game of Chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance, 1987

Sale Date: April 18, 2017

Auction Closed

Beau Geste II; Beau Geste VII 2, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste II; Beau Geste VII 2, 1989

Sale Date: April 18, 2017

Auction Closed

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Sale Date: April 10, 2017

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1986

Sale Date: April 10, 2017

Auction Closed

Elegy (Study), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Elegy (Study), 1979

Sale Date: April 10, 2017

Auction Closed

Flight, 1970, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Flight, 1970, 1970

Sale Date: April 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Riverrun, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Riverrun, 1988

Sale Date: March 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Sale Date: March 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Sale Date: March 29, 2017

Auction Closed

PRIMAL SIGN IV, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

PRIMAL SIGN IV, 1979–1980

Sale Date: April 6, 2017

Auction Closed

CALLIGRAPHIC STUDY V, 1976

Robert Motherwell

CALLIGRAPHIC STUDY V, 1976

Sale Date: April 6, 2017

Auction Closed

CALLIGRAPHIC STUDY IV, 1976

Robert Motherwell

CALLIGRAPHIC STUDY IV, 1976

Sale Date: April 6, 2017

Auction Closed

ROOTS OF ABSTRACT ART IN AMERICA, 1965

Robert Motherwell

ROOTS OF ABSTRACT ART IN AMERICA, 1965

Sale Date: March 16, 2017

Auction Closed

Arizona, 1947

Robert Motherwell

Arizona, 1947

Sale Date: March 3, 2017

Auction Closed

London Series II: Untitled (Black/Yellow), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series II: Untitled (Black/Yellow), 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 4, 2017

Auction Closed

London Series I: Untitled (Green), 1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series I: Untitled (Green), 1971

Sale Date: March 4, 2017

Auction Closed

Africa #4, 1970–1979

Robert Motherwell

Africa #4, 1970–1979

Sale Date: March 4, 2017

Auction Closed

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Sale Date: March 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Calligraphy I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphy I, 1989

Sale Date: March 1, 2017

Auction Closed

America—La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America—La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: March 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #4, from Summer Lights Series, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #4, from Summer Lights Series, 1973

Sale Date: March 1, 2017

Auction Closed

In Blue and Bleeding Black #2 (from Lyric..., 1965

Robert Motherwell

In Blue and Bleeding Black #2 (from Lyric..., 1965

Sale Date: March 5, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.