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)
African 2 (from African suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

African 2 (from African suite), 1970

Sale Date: July 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Los Angeles sun, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Los Angeles sun, 1980

Sale Date: July 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems (album w/27 works..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems (album w/27 works..., 1988

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Black sun (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Black sun (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

In white with green stripe, 1987

Robert Motherwell

In white with green stripe, 1987

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Rite of passage II, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage II, 1980

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Pauillac, no.3 (from Summer light series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, no.3 (from Summer light series), 1973

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Harvest, with blue shadow (from Summer light , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with blue shadow (from Summer light , 1973

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Harvest, with two white stripes (from Summer , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with two white stripes (from Summer , 1973

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque suite), 1971

Sale Date: July 21, 2011

Auction Closed

Gypsy curse

Robert Motherwell

Gypsy curse

Sale Date: June 30, 2011

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Schapiro, 1974

Sale Date: June 30, 2011

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: June 2, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: May 4, 2011

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

After Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: June 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna, 1968–1969

Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna, 1968–1969

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Beau Geste II (from Beau Gest suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste II (from Beau Gest suite), 1989

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Beau Geste I (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste I (from Beau Geste suite), 1989

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

No.6 (from The Basque suite(, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

No.6 (from The Basque suite(, 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

No. 4 (from The Basque suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

No. 4 (from The Basque suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 9, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled from portfolio 9

Robert Motherwell

Untitled from portfolio 9

Sale Date: May 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Sin título

Robert Motherwell

Sin título

Sale Date: May 24, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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