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)
Summer trident (E. & B. 505), 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident (E. & B. 505), 1990

Sale Date: November 5, 2014

Auction Closed

At the edge (Belknap 315; Engberg & Banach..., 1984

Robert Motherwell

At the edge (Belknap 315; Engberg & Banach..., 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegy study I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy study I, 1989

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

El negro (bk w/19 works), 1983

Robert Motherwell

El negro (bk w/19 works), 1983

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Redness of red, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Redness of red, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Dance III (Red), 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance III (Red), 1978

Sale Date: October 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Naples Yellow Open, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Naples Yellow Open, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 2, 2014

Auction Closed

Atascadero II, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Atascadero II, 1978

Sale Date: November 2, 2014

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1967–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1967–1977

Sale Date: November 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage III, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage III, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: October 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1982

Sale Date: October 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Primal sign IV, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign IV, 1980

Sale Date: October 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1967

Sale Date: October 27, 2014

Auction Closed

In White and Blue on Grey, 1974

Robert Motherwell

In White and Blue on Grey, 1974

Sale Date: October 29, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972

Sale Date: October 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1982

Sale Date: October 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite (set of 27), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite (set of 27), 1988

Sale Date: October 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Leaf (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Leaf (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Sale Date: October 28, 2014

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #4 (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #4 (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Sale Date: October 28, 2014

Auction Closed

America-La France Variations I, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France Variations I, 1984

Sale Date: October 28, 2014

Auction Closed

Redness of Red, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Redness of Red, 1985

Sale Date: October 28, 2014

Auction Closed

English (US)

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