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)
Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Roth-Handle II (Olive), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Handle II (Olive), 1975

Sale Date: September 19, 2013

Auction Closed

Cultural Institutions, New York, NY, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Cultural Institutions, New York, NY, 1983

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

America-La France, Variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France, Variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Madrid Suite #9, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Madrid Suite #9, 1965–1966

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite: Return, 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite: Return, 1986–1988

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Phoenician Etching, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Phoenician Etching, 1977

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

London Series II, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series II, 1970–1971

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Through Black Emerge Purified-3, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Through Black Emerge Purified-3, 1982

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Black, Yellow and White, London Series II, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Black, Yellow and White, London Series II, 1970

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

St. Michael II

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Nocturne V (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne V (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Sale Date: September 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled (A)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (A)

Sale Date: September 20, 2013

Auction Closed

Three Figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Figures, 1989

Sale Date: September 20, 2013

Auction Closed

Africa no. 3 (from: Africa Suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa no. 3 (from: Africa Suite)

Sale Date: September 22, 2013

Auction Closed

The Red Queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Red Queen, 1989

Sale Date: September 19, 2013

Auction Closed

Untitled B (from The Basque Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled B (from The Basque Suite), 1970

Sale Date: August 21, 2013

Auction Closed

Wind

Robert Motherwell

Wind

Sale Date: July 27, 2013

Auction Closed

Beau Geste I (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste I (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Sale Date: July 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Beau Geste III (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste III (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Sale Date: July 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Blue Gesture (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Blue Gesture (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1988

Sale Date: July 16, 2013

Auction Closed

Calligraphic Study V, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphic Study V, 1976

Sale Date: July 16, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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