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)
In White with green Stripe, 1987

Robert Motherwell

In White with green Stripe, 1987

Sale Date: November 30, 2013

Auction Closed

The Walls of the Temple (Decalogue, Jacob's...

Robert Motherwell

The Walls of the Temple (Decalogue, Jacob's...

Sale Date: December 10, 2013

Auction Closed

Exhibition: Paintings and Collages at Sidney , 1957

Robert Motherwell

Exhibition: Paintings and Collages at Sidney , 1957

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Abstract, 1954

Robert Motherwell

Abstract, 1954

Sale Date: November 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suit (set of 27)

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suit (set of 27)

Sale Date: November 9, 2013

Auction Closed

Burning Elegy, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Burning Elegy, 1991

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Mexican Night II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican Night II, 1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Redness of Red, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Redness of Red, 1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite II-V (4 , 1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite II-V (4 , 1988

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Vivo (Sepia), 1986

Robert Motherwell

Vivo (Sepia), 1986

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

America la-France (Variation I), 1984

Robert Motherwell

America la-France (Variation I), 1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

On the Wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the Wing, 1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Black Sounds, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Black Sounds, 1984

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

The Dalton Print; Easter Day; El General (3..., 1979

Robert Motherwell

The Dalton Print; Easter Day; El General (3..., 1979

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

El General, 1980

Robert Motherwell

El General, 1980

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Easter Day, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter Day, 1980

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

A la Pintura, la Arboleda perdida (set of 21), 1972

Robert Motherwell

A la Pintura, la Arboleda perdida (set of 21), 1972

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Africa 2; 3; 5; 6; 8; 10 (Six works), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 2; 3; 5; 6; 8; 10 (Six works), 1970

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Basque Suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Basque Suite), 1971

Sale Date: November 23, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1991

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Beau Geste I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste I, 1989

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Three Forms, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Forms, 1988

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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