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)
ELEGY FRAGMENT II (WALKER ART CENTER 360), 1985

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY FRAGMENT II (WALKER ART CENTER 360), 1985

Sale Date: October 28, 2016

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: September 29, 2016

Auction Closed

Samurai, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Samurai, 1971

Sale Date: October 2, 2016

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Three Figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Figures, 1989

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Palo Alto, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Palo Alto, 1978

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Summer Trident, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer Trident, 1990

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Calligraphy I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphy I, 1989

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Primal Sign II, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign II, 1980

Sale Date: October 18, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Portfolio of 27)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Portfolio of 27)

Sale Date: October 8, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: October 15, 2016

Auction Closed

Spoleto poster, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto poster, 1968

Sale Date: October 9, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Berggruen Series), 1980

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Berggruen Series), 1980

Sale Date: October 9, 2016

Auction Closed

Sketch for Mural

Robert Motherwell

Sketch for Mural

Sale Date: September 23, 2016

Auction Closed

Hollow Man's Cave, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Hollow Man's Cave, 1991

Sale Date: September 23, 2016

Auction Closed

Game of Chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance, 1987

Sale Date: September 23, 2016

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations IX, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations IX, 1984

Sale Date: September 23, 2016

Auction Closed

Spanish Elegy, 1959

Robert Motherwell

Spanish Elegy, 1959

Sale Date: October 4, 2016

Auction Closed

Madrid #2, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Madrid #2, 1958

Sale Date: September 28, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1951

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1951

Sale Date: September 28, 2016

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1991

Sale Date: September 29, 2016

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: September 29, 2016

Auction Closed

OPEN STUDY NO. 4, 1968

Robert Motherwell

OPEN STUDY NO. 4, 1968

Sale Date: September 29, 2016

Auction Closed

XX, 1985

Robert Motherwell

XX, 1985

Sale Date: September 29, 2016

Auction Closed

English (US)

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