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)
Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: June 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Five Circles, 1971–1972

Sale Date: June 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Automatism A

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A

Sale Date: June 19, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (Red), From London Series I, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Red), From London Series I, 1971

Sale Date: June 9, 2012

Auction Closed

America La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America La France Variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: June 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Two blues and cream, From London Series , 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Two blues and cream, From London Series , 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Drunk with Turpentine No. 27, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with Turpentine No. 27, 1979

Sale Date: June 27, 2012

Auction Closed

Five Circles

Robert Motherwell

Five Circles

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: June 15, 2012

Auction Closed

London Series I, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series I, 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Lyric Suite #11, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite #11, 1965

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Gesture IV, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV, 1976–1977

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

The Black Wall, 1980–1981

Robert Motherwell

The Black Wall, 1980–1981

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: June 12, 2012

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna, 1965

Sale Date: June 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: May 18, 2012

Auction Closed

Beige Figuration (Tapestry), 1970–1979

Robert Motherwell

Beige Figuration (Tapestry), 1970–1979

Sale Date: May 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Sale Date: May 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Primal Sign IV

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign IV

Sale Date: April 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Primal Sign III

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign III

Sale Date: April 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Primal Sign II

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign II

Sale Date: April 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Decalogue, Jacob's Ladder, and Burning Bush, 1951

Robert Motherwell

Decalogue, Jacob's Ladder, and Burning Bush, 1951

Sale Date: May 9, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

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