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)
Brasiliera, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Brasiliera, 1975

Sale Date: November 13, 2014

Auction Closed

Open No. 23: In Blue with Variations of..., 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open No. 23: In Blue with Variations of..., 1968

Sale Date: November 13, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegy Sketch with Amber, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Sketch with Amber, 1977

Sale Date: November 13, 2014

Auction Closed

Beau Geste pour Lucrece (Komplett portfölj..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste pour Lucrece (Komplett portfölj..., 1989

Sale Date: November 11, 2014

Auction Closed

Delos

Robert Motherwell

Delos

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Red, cut by black, 1966–1967

Robert Motherwell

Red, cut by black, 1966–1967

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

New York Cultural Institutions, 1982

Robert Motherwell

New York Cultural Institutions, 1982

Sale Date: November 16, 2014

Auction Closed

London Series II, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series II, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Game of Chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance, 1987

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

The Dalton Print, 1979

Robert Motherwell

The Dalton Print, 1979

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Dance I, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance I, 1978

Sale Date: November 12, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, Plate 4 from The African Suite, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, Plate 4 from The African Suite, 1965

Sale Date: November 1, 2014

Auction Closed

MOTHERWELL_ROBERT BURNS Untitled from..., 1940–1991

Robert Motherwell

MOTHERWELL_ROBERT BURNS Untitled from..., 1940–1991

Sale Date: November 1, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled from The Basque Suite, 1940–1991

Robert Motherwell

Untitled from The Basque Suite, 1940–1991

Sale Date: November 1, 2014

Auction Closed

America La France, Variations 1

Robert Motherwell

America La France, Variations 1

Sale Date: October 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Hommage to Picasso, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Hommage to Picasso, 1973

Sale Date: October 29, 2014

Auction Closed

America - La France (Variation IX), 1983

Robert Motherwell

America - La France (Variation IX), 1983

Sale Date: November 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegy Fragment II, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Fragment II, 1985

Sale Date: November 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: October 23, 2014

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 18, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 18, 1987

Sale Date: October 23, 2014

Auction Closed

English (US)

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