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)
The Mexican Window, 1974

Robert Motherwell

The Mexican Window, 1974

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Beside the Sea, No. 3, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the Sea, No. 3, 1962

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Imaginary Landscape, 1945

Robert Motherwell

Imaginary Landscape, 1945

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

The Wedding, 1958

Robert Motherwell

The Wedding, 1958

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Open, n.75, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Open, n.75, 1969

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (Elegy), 1960

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Elegy), 1960

Sale Date: November 15, 2012

Auction Closed

Chicago art print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Chicago art print, 1981

Sale Date: November 10, 2012

Auction Closed

Pauillac no. 3 (Summer light series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac no. 3 (Summer light series), 1973

Sale Date: November 10, 2012

Auction Closed

The poet's eye, 1990

Robert Motherwell

The poet's eye, 1990

Sale Date: November 10, 2012

Auction Closed

America -- la France Variations IX, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America -- la France Variations IX, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Apropos Robinson Jeffers, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Apropos Robinson Jeffers, 1981

Sale Date: November 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: November 5, 2012

Auction Closed

Still Life with Black, 1945

Robert Motherwell

Still Life with Black, 1945

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Hollow Men Study (Trio III), 1985

Robert Motherwell

Hollow Men Study (Trio III), 1985

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

The Studio, 1987

Robert Motherwell

The Studio, 1987

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Open #126, in Beige with Blue, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Open #126, in Beige with Blue, 1970

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Sea, Sky, Sand, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Sea, Sky, Sand, 1961

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Saraband, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Saraband, 1984

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Piccadilly Revisited, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Piccadilly Revisited, 1976

Sale Date: November 14, 2012

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #122, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #122, 1972

Sale Date: November 13, 2012

Auction Closed

Three Figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Figures, 1989

Sale Date: November 2, 2012

Auction Closed

Elegy Study I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study I, 1989

Sale Date: November 2, 2012

Auction Closed

Water's Edge, Untitled and Naples Yellow..., 1984

Robert Motherwell

Water's Edge, Untitled and Naples Yellow..., 1984

Sale Date: November 2, 2012

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1983

Sale Date: November 2, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

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