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)
French Revolution bicentennial suite Ⅱ, 1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution bicentennial suite Ⅱ, 1988

Sale Date: February 5, 2011

Auction Closed

History (from the Ulysses portfolio), 1987

Robert Motherwell

History (from the Ulysses portfolio), 1987

Sale Date: January 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled (from new york international..., 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from new york international..., 1966

Sale Date: January 11, 2011

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: December 29, 2010

Auction Closed

The mad clown, 1944

Robert Motherwell

The mad clown, 1944

Sale Date: January 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Summer trident, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident, 1990

Sale Date: January 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: January 28, 2011

Auction Closed

The green studio, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The green studio, 1985

Sale Date: January 28, 2011

Auction Closed

El negro

Robert Motherwell

El negro

Sale Date: February 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1968

Sale Date: February 1, 2008

Auction Closed

White 1-2, 1969

Robert Motherwell

White 1-2, 1969

Sale Date: December 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Utan titel, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Utan titel, 1976

Sale Date: December 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Window (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Window (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Sale Date: December 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Senza titolo

Robert Motherwell

Senza titolo

Sale Date: November 28, 2009

Auction Closed

Harvest with orange stripe

Robert Motherwell

Harvest with orange stripe

Sale Date: December 12, 2010

Auction Closed

From alphabet series, 1986

Robert Motherwell

From alphabet series, 1986

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy study 1, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy study 1, 1989

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

7 plates (from Octavio Paz) (set of 7), 1988

Robert Motherwell

7 plates (from Octavio Paz) (set of 7), 1988

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Rite of passage II, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage II, 1980

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

From French Revolution Bicentennial Suite III, 1988

Robert Motherwell

From French Revolution Bicentennial Suite III, 1988

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Forever black, 1981–1983

Robert Motherwell

Forever black, 1981–1983

Sale Date: December 3, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: October 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Bistre signs, 1979–1984

Robert Motherwell

Bistre signs, 1979–1984

Sale Date: November 18, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970

Sale Date: November 18, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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