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)
Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Black Rumble, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Black Rumble, 1985

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Blue Shadow * Harvest, with..., 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Blue Shadow * Harvest, with..., 1973

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Summer Light Series: Harvest in Scotland, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: Harvest in Scotland, 1973

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

The Black Douglas Stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Black Douglas Stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Gauloises Bleues, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises Bleues, 1968

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Seaside studio, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Seaside studio, 1990

Sale Date: November 11, 2013

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite no. 4, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite no. 4, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 11, 2013

Auction Closed

Royal dirge, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Royal dirge, 1972

Sale Date: November 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled. From Portfolio 9, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled. From Portfolio 9, 1967

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Hollow Man's Cave, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Hollow Man's Cave, 1991

Sale Date: October 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: November 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Black Figuration No. 2, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Black Figuration No. 2, 1976

Sale Date: November 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Open Forms (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Robert Motherwell

Open Forms (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Sale Date: November 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Sale Date: November 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Joyce Sketchbook), 1985

Sale Date: November 12, 2013

Auction Closed

The razor's edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The razor's edge, 1985

Sale Date: October 31, 2013

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1983

Sale Date: October 31, 2013

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

On the Wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the Wing, 1984

Sale Date: November 2, 2013

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: November 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983

Sale Date: October 20, 2013

Auction Closed

Alphabet Series : One plate, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Alphabet Series : One plate, 1986

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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