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)
Plate 6 from Madrid Suite, 1966, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Plate 6 from Madrid Suite, 1966, 1966

Sale Date: May 24, 2016

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite: A Throw of the Dice, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite: A Throw of the Dice, 1988

Sale Date: May 7, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (London Series I), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (London Series I), 1971

Sale Date: May 7, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, from New York International, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from New York International, 1966

Sale Date: May 7, 2016

Auction Closed

Africa Tapestry, 1970

After Robert Motherwell

Africa Tapestry, 1970

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

America--La France Variations I, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America--La France Variations I, 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Orange Lyric, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Orange Lyric, 1989

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Art 1981 Chicago Print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago Print, 1981

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled; Airless Black (2 works), 1984

Robert Motherwell

Untitled; Airless Black (2 works), 1984

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Nocturne II; Nocturne V; Nocturne VI (3 , 1967–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne II; Nocturne V; Nocturne VI (3 , 1967–1988

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Return, 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return, 1986–1988

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (State I), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (State I), 1977

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Gauloises Bleues (White), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises Bleues (White), 1970

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Summer Light Series: Harvest, with Two White , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: Harvest, with Two White , 1973

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Madrid Suite, Number 3, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Madrid Suite, Number 3, 1965–1966

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Paris Review, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Paris Review, 1965

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Black on White #5, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Black on White #5, 1968

Sale Date: May 11, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled (Black Ochre Pink), 1977–1979

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Black Ochre Pink), 1977–1979

Sale Date: May 11, 2016

Auction Closed

Gauloises on Scarlet over Yellow #3, 1972–1982

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises on Scarlet over Yellow #3, 1972–1982

Sale Date: May 11, 2016

Auction Closed

IN BEIGE WITH CHARCOAL #3, 1973

Robert Motherwell

IN BEIGE WITH CHARCOAL #3, 1973

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

DRUNK WITH TURPENTINE NO. 27

Robert Motherwell

DRUNK WITH TURPENTINE NO. 27

Sale Date: May 12, 2016

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1969

Sale Date: May 10, 2016

Auction Closed

English (US)

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