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 Suite (set of 27), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite (set of 27), 1988

Sale Date: April 24, 2014

Auction Closed

The Black Wall, 1981

Robert Motherwell

The Black Wall, 1981

Sale Date: April 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Redness of Red, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Redness of Red, 1985

Sale Date: April 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: April 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: April 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Africa 9 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 9 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: April 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegy Study, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study, 1976

Sale Date: March 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 13, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 13, 1987

Sale Date: March 26, 2014

Auction Closed

Black 1-3 (Aus: A la Pintura), 1969

Robert Motherwell

Black 1-3 (Aus: A la Pintura), 1969

Sale Date: March 29, 2014

Auction Closed

Tobacco Roth-handle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco Roth-handle, 1975

Sale Date: March 11, 2014

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: March 11, 2014

Auction Closed

The Aberdeen stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Aberdeen stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 18, 2014

Auction Closed

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Sale Date: March 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Delta

Robert Motherwell

Delta

Sale Date: February 19, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the New York portfolio), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the New York portfolio), 1982

Sale Date: February 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Beau Geste III, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste III, 1989

Sale Date: February 11, 2014

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1954

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1954

Sale Date: February 23, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegy (Study), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Elegy (Study), 1979

Sale Date: February 7, 2014

Auction Closed

Spoleto Festival, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto Festival, 1968

Sale Date: February 7, 2014

Auction Closed

African Suite (No. 6), 1970

Robert Motherwell

African Suite (No. 6), 1970

Sale Date: February 2, 2014

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite A

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite A

Sale Date: February 2, 2014

Auction Closed

Mexican Elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexican Elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: February 9, 2014

Auction Closed

Nocturne VII (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VII (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: February 9, 2014

Auction Closed

Africa. From the Africa Suite

Robert Motherwell

Africa. From the Africa Suite

Sale Date: January 23, 2014

Auction Closed

English (US)

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