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)
Art 1981 Chicago Print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago Print, 1981

Sale Date: October 7, 2012

Auction Closed

America-La France Variations II, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France Variations II, 1983–1984

Sale Date: October 7, 2012

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: October 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Gesture IV (State I), 1976

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV (State I), 1976

Sale Date: October 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa 8 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 8 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: October 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 6

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, Three Poems 6

Sale Date: October 4, 2012

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: September 27, 2012

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage, 1B

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage, 1B

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 10 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 10 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 6 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 6 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 1 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 1 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 3 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 3 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 2 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 2 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Africa, no. 1 (from Africa suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa, no. 1 (from Africa suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Basque Suite)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Basque Suite)

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

America-La France, Variations I, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France, Variations I, 1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy with Blue

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy with Blue

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: September 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Sale Date: September 27, 2012

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, 1972

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Hommage à Picasso: Window, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Hommage à Picasso: Window, 1973

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Black Flag, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black Flag, 1982–1983

Sale Date: September 22, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.