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)
Hollow men suite (set of 7), 1986

Robert Motherwell

Hollow men suite (set of 7), 1986

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Red open with white line, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red open with white line, 1979

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Red sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red sea I, 1976

Sale Date: October 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1957

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1957

Sale Date: October 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Mexico City personages III (from..., 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personages III (from..., 1986–1988

Sale Date: October 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Sale Date: October 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Summer trident, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident, 1990

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1983–1984

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Autumn (from Paris Suite III), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Autumn (from Paris Suite III), 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Atascadero III, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Atascadero III, 1978

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Harvest, in Scotland (from Summer light), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, in Scotland (from Summer light), 1973

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

(Red) (from London I), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

(Red) (from London I), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed

The razor's edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The razor's edge, 1985

Sale Date: October 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Frontier no. 12, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Frontier no. 12, 1958

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Lincoln Center mostly Mozart, 25th anniversary, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Lincoln Center mostly Mozart, 25th anniversary, 1991

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

St. Michael I, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I, 1979

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Spoleto festival, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto festival, 1968

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 (from Three poems)

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 (from Three poems)

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Gauloises, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises, 1970

Sale Date: October 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Lincoln Center mostly Mozart, 25th anniversary, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Lincoln Center mostly Mozart, 25th anniversary, 1991

Sale Date: September 15, 2011

Auction Closed

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

Robert Motherwell

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

Sale Date: September 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Signs on copper, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Signs on copper, 1981

Sale Date: August 31, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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