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)
Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Automatism A

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Africa 3 (+ Africa 5; 2 works)

Robert Motherwell

Africa 3 (+ Africa 5; 2 works)

Sale Date: May 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Elegy with sprung rhythm, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Elegy with sprung rhythm, 1962

Sale Date: May 10, 2011

Auction Closed

Elegy black black

Robert Motherwell

Elegy black black

Sale Date: May 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca

Sale Date: May 16, 2011

Auction Closed

At the edge

Robert Motherwell

At the edge

Sale Date: May 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Poe no.2 (from Edgar Allen Poe series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Poe no.2 (from Edgar Allen Poe series), 1973

Sale Date: May 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Africa suite no.1, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite no.1, 1970

Sale Date: May 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 7 (from Three poems), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 7 (from Three poems), 1987

Sale Date: April 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 4 (from Three poems), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 4 (from Three poems), 1987

Sale Date: April 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1977

Sale Date: April 20, 2011

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: April 29, 2011

Auction Closed

The razor's edge, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The razor's edge, 1985

Sale Date: April 29, 2011

Auction Closed

Dance III: red, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance III: red, 1978

Sale Date: April 29, 2011

Auction Closed

Africa #1 (from Africa Suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa #1 (from Africa Suite)

Sale Date: April 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the beside the sea suite)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the beside the sea suite)

Sale Date: April 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz (set of of 27), 1987–1980

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz (set of of 27), 1987–1980

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Mexico City personages II (from Octavio , 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personages II (from Octavio , 1986–1988

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Mexico City personages I (from Octavio..., 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personages I (from Octavio..., 1986–1988

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

English (US)

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