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)
Black mountain (State II red), 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black mountain (State II red), 1982–1983

Sale Date: September 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Birthday card to Helen Frankenthaler, 1963

Robert Motherwell

Birthday card to Helen Frankenthaler, 1963

Sale Date: August 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: September 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ Airless black; 2 works), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (+ Airless black; 2 works), 1977

Sale Date: September 20, 2011

Auction Closed

Nocturne II (from Three poems by..., 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne II (from Three poems by..., 1987–1988

Sale Date: September 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Return (from Three poems by Octavio Paz , 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return (from Three poems by Octavio Paz , 1986–1988

Sale Date: September 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1973

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Airless black

Robert Motherwell

Airless black

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Naples yellow open, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Naples yellow open, 1983

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Art Chicago, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art Chicago, 1981

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Rite of passage, 1B

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage, 1B

Sale Date: September 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Irish suite), 1990

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Irish suite), 1990

Sale Date: September 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1971

Sale Date: September 17, 2011

Auction Closed

España II, 1983

Robert Motherwell

España II, 1983

Sale Date: September 15, 2011

Auction Closed

España I, 1983

Robert Motherwell

España I, 1983

Sale Date: September 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Hollow men suite #7, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Hollow men suite #7, 1986

Sale Date: September 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled abstract in green, grey and black

Robert Motherwell

Untitled abstract in green, grey and black

Sale Date: March 17, 2009

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 21 (from Three poems), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 21 (from Three poems), 1987

Sale Date: August 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Soot black stone no.6, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Soot black stone no.6, 1973

Sale Date: August 6, 2011

Auction Closed

Return (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1986–1988

Sale Date: August 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Wind (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Wind (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: August 14, 2011

Auction Closed

No. 2 (from Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

No. 2 (from Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: August 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Paris-suite II/summer, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Paris-suite II/summer, 1980

Sale Date: July 20, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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