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)
Perpetual Summer, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Perpetual Summer, 1985

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

The Berggruen Series (set of 4), 1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen Series (set of 4), 1980

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Elegy Black Black, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Black Black, 1983

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Mexican Night II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican Night II, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Gesture I (State II), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture I (State II), 1977

Sale Date: October 30, 2013

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

España, 1990

Robert Motherwell

España, 1990

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

St. Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Flesh Automatism, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Flesh Automatism, 1984

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Elegy Study I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study I, 1989

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Gesture IV (State I), 1976

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV (State I), 1976

Sale Date: October 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: November 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Africa 10 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 10 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Africa 5 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 5 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Sale Date: October 22, 2013

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Orange Stripe, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Orange Stripe, 1973

Sale Date: October 13, 2013

Auction Closed

St. Michel I (State II), 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michel I (State II), 1979

Sale Date: October 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Sale Date: October 5, 2013

Auction Closed

Oy/Yo, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Oy/Yo, 1978

Sale Date: October 2, 2013

Auction Closed

Game of Chance

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance

Sale Date: October 2, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Paroles Peintes III), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Paroles Peintes III), 1966

Sale Date: September 29, 2013

Auction Closed

After Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. , 1970–1976

Robert Motherwell

After Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. , 1970–1976

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

The Sun, 1944

Robert Motherwell

The Sun, 1944

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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