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)
Beau Geste III, pl.3 (from Beau Geste), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste III, pl.3 (from Beau Geste), 1989

Sale Date: June 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Yellow chord, 1980–1981

Robert Motherwell

Yellow chord, 1980–1981

Sale Date: May 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Alberti elegy, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Alberti elegy, 1982

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Primal sign V (Copper), 1981

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign V (Copper), 1981

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Africa I (from Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa I (from Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

The cavern, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The cavern, 1989

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Elegy (study), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Elegy (study), 1979

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989

Sale Date: June 8, 2011

Auction Closed

Paris suite (set of 4), 1980

Robert Motherwell

Paris suite (set of 4), 1980

Sale Date: May 23, 2011

Auction Closed

Retrun (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Retrun (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1986–1988

Sale Date: May 18, 2011

Auction Closed

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

Robert Motherwell

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

Sale Date: May 18, 2011

Auction Closed

Guardian #1, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Guardian #1, 1966

Sale Date: May 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Soot-black stone #2, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Soot-black stone #2, 1974–1975

Sale Date: May 18, 2011

Auction Closed

Window (from Hommage a Picasso), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Window (from Hommage a Picasso), 1973

Sale Date: May 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Waiting for Samuel Beckett, 1979–1981

Robert Motherwell

Waiting for Samuel Beckett, 1979–1981

Sale Date: May 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Alberti suite III, 1968–1981

Robert Motherwell

Alberti suite III, 1968–1981

Sale Date: May 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Beside the sea no. 45, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea no. 45, 1967

Sale Date: May 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: May 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Sale Date: May 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy study, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy study, 1979

Sale Date: May 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Summer in Italy with blue

Robert Motherwell

Summer in Italy with blue

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Automatism B

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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