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 Berggruen series (set of 4), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen series (set of 4), 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Samurai II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Samurai II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Arches cover, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Arches cover, 1976

Sale Date: November 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Sale Date: November 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Royal dirge, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Royal dirge, 1972

Sale Date: November 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ Wind from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (+ Wind from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy #15, 1963–1964

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy #15, 1963–1964

Sale Date: November 10, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: November 10, 2011

Auction Closed

Airless black, 1981–1983

Robert Motherwell

Airless black, 1981–1983

Sale Date: November 7, 2011

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: November 7, 2011

Auction Closed

Dance I, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance I, 1978

Sale Date: November 6, 2011

Auction Closed

Burning Bush

Robert Motherwell

Burning Bush

Sale Date: November 2, 2011

Auction Closed

Jacob's Ladder II

Robert Motherwell

Jacob's Ladder II

Sale Date: November 2, 2011

Auction Closed

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

Robert Motherwell

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

Sale Date: November 2, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (Drawing)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Drawing)

Sale Date: November 2, 2011

Auction Closed

The red queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The red queen, 1989

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Orange lyric, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Orange lyric, 1989

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Gesture II, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II, 1976–1977

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle, 1974–1975

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Burning elegy, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Burning elegy, 1991

Sale Date: October 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Hollow men suite no.1 - no.7 (set of 7), 1986

Robert Motherwell

Hollow men suite no.1 - no.7 (set of 7), 1986

Sale Date: October 26, 2011

Auction Closed

The razor's edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The razor's edge, 1985

Sale Date: October 26, 2011

Auction Closed

The red queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The red queen, 1989

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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