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)
Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Sale Date: January 12, 2014

Auction Closed

The poet's eye, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The poet's eye, 1989

Sale Date: January 21, 2014

Auction Closed

Wind

Robert Motherwell

Wind

Sale Date: December 14, 2013

Auction Closed

America-La France (Variation IX), 1983

Robert Motherwell

America-La France (Variation IX), 1983

Sale Date: December 2, 2013

Auction Closed

La Casa de la Mancha, 1984

Robert Motherwell

La Casa de la Mancha, 1984

Sale Date: December 11, 2013

Auction Closed

Norway, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1979–1980

Sale Date: December 11, 2013

Auction Closed

Yellow and Black Abstract from The..., 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Yellow and Black Abstract from The..., 1970–1971

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Blue and Black Abstract from The Basque , 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Blue and Black Abstract from The Basque , 1970–1971

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna

After Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Black Sounds

Robert Motherwell

Black Sounds

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Dance III

Robert Motherwell

Dance III

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage I

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage I

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Nocturne VIII, pl.8 (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VIII, pl.8 (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1988

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna. Woven

After Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna. Woven

Sale Date: December 6, 2013

Auction Closed

African Suite (No. 10), 1970

Robert Motherwell

African Suite (No. 10), 1970

Sale Date: December 6, 2013

Auction Closed

African Suite (No. 9), 1970

Robert Motherwell

African Suite (No. 9), 1970

Sale Date: December 6, 2013

Auction Closed

African Suite (No. 8)

Robert Motherwell

African Suite (No. 8)

Sale Date: December 6, 2013

Auction Closed

African Suite (No. 6), 1970

Robert Motherwell

African Suite (No. 6), 1970

Sale Date: December 6, 2013

Auction Closed

Ulysses (Additional suite of etchings)..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses (Additional suite of etchings)..., 1988

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

The Summer Studio, 1977

Robert Motherwell

The Summer Studio, 1977

Sale Date: November 20, 2013

Auction Closed

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Sale Date: December 7, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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