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)
Africa tapestry, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa tapestry, 1970

Sale Date: April 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Elegy Study I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study I, 1989

Sale Date: April 25, 2012

Auction Closed

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Razor's Edge, 1985

Sale Date: April 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: April 28, 2012

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: March 22, 2012

Auction Closed

Calligraphic presence, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphic presence, 1977

Sale Date: March 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Construction drawing, 1945

Robert Motherwell

Construction drawing, 1945

Sale Date: March 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Composition (Man), 1947

Robert Motherwell

Composition (Man), 1947

Sale Date: March 9, 2012

Auction Closed

I.H. series no. 26, 1970

Robert Motherwell

I.H. series no. 26, 1970

Sale Date: March 9, 2012

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 16 (from Three poems), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 16 (from Three poems), 1987

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 (from Three poems)

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 (from Three poems)

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Wind

Robert Motherwell

Wind

Sale Date: March 3, 2012

Auction Closed

At this hour

Robert Motherwell

At this hour

Sale Date: March 3, 2012

Auction Closed

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce VI, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce VI, 1989

Sale Date: March 6, 2012

Auction Closed

Sin título

Robert Motherwell

Sin título

Sale Date: February 7, 2012

Auction Closed

American-La France variations II, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

American-La France variations II, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 10, 2006

Auction Closed

Elegy fragment II, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Elegy fragment II, 1985

Sale Date: June 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Spoleto festival, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto festival, 1968

Sale Date: January 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Nine), 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Nine), 1967

Sale Date: August 9, 2009

Auction Closed

Ulysses (bk w/text by James Joyce & 40 works), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses (bk w/text by James Joyce & 40 works), 1988

Sale Date: January 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Yellow flight, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Yellow flight, 1986

Sale Date: January 25, 2012

Auction Closed

Harvest, with leaf (from Summer light series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with leaf (from Summer light series), 1973

Sale Date: January 25, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

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