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 sounds, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Black sounds, 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Ojai festival, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Ojai festival, 1981–1982

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

La guerra II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

La guerra II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

La guerra I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

La guerra I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Easter day 1979, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day 1979, 1979–1980

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

London (series II), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London (series II), 1970–1971

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (With lines), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (With lines), 1965–1966

Sale Date: May 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Elegy I (study), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy I (study), 1989

Sale Date: April 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Mexican night II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican night II, 1984

Sale Date: April 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Alphabet series, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Alphabet series, 1986

Sale Date: April 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Running elegy II, yellow state, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Running elegy II, yellow state, 1983

Sale Date: April 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Running elegy, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Running elegy, 1983

Sale Date: April 26, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: April 19, 2011

Auction Closed

Red samurai (from octavio paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Red samurai (from octavio paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: March 17, 2011

Auction Closed

Beau geste iii, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste iii, 1989

Sale Date: March 15, 2011

Auction Closed

St. Michael I (State I), 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I (State I), 1979

Sale Date: March 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Africa 1 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 1 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: March 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 6

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 6

Sale Date: March 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Three poems – Tres poemas (bk by Octavio Paz...

Robert Motherwell

Three poems – Tres poemas (bk by Octavio Paz...

Sale Date: March 25, 2011

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 from portfolio..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 6 from portfolio..., 1987

Sale Date: January 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz, three poems 5 from the..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz, three poems 5 from the..., 1987

Sale Date: January 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Espana II, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Espana II, 1983

Sale Date: March 26, 2009

Auction Closed

English (US)

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