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)
Octavio Paz, Three Poems 20, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 20, 1987

Sale Date: July 17, 2014

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Seaside Studio, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Seaside Studio, 1990

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Black Mountation (State I), 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black Mountation (State I), 1983

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Automatism B, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B, 1966

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Running Elegy, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Running Elegy, 1983

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Yellow Chord, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Yellow Chord, 1981

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Black Gesture on Copper Ground, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Black Gesture on Copper Ground, 1981

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

On Stage, 1983

Robert Motherwell

On Stage, 1983

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

El General, 1980

Robert Motherwell

El General, 1980

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

The Wave, 1978

Robert Motherwell

The Wave, 1978

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

The Berggruen Series (set of 4), 1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen Series (set of 4), 1980

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Gauloises Bleues (Yellow with Black Square), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises Bleues (Yellow with Black Square), 1971

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

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

Robert Motherwell

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

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt Portfolio), 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt Portfolio), 1990

Sale Date: July 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Pauillac #1, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac #1, 1973

Sale Date: June 26, 2014

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: June 14, 2014

Auction Closed

Spanish Elegy (From Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Spanish Elegy (From Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Window. (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Window. (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Sale Date: June 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Three Figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Figures, 1989

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Black for Mozart, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black for Mozart, 1991

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

English (US)

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