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)
Paris Review

Robert Motherwell

Paris Review

Sale Date: November 18, 2010

Auction Closed

Three poems (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three poems (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: November 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Senza titolo, 1976

Sale Date: November 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Springtime dissonance, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Springtime dissonance, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Monument for Jackson Pollock, 1956

Robert Motherwell

Monument for Jackson Pollock, 1956

Sale Date: November 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Open #29 in crimson with charcoal line, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Open #29 in crimson with charcoal line, 1969

Sale Date: November 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Two figures, no. 12, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Two figures, no. 12, 1958

Sale Date: November 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Beside the sea, #20, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea, #20, 1962

Sale Date: November 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Dutch linen I, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Dutch linen I, 1974

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Primal sign I, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign I, 1980

Sale Date: November 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Green Gauloises, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Green Gauloises, 1973

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Scarlet with Gauloises no.17, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Scarlet with Gauloises no.17, 1972

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

The figure no.4, 1966

Robert Motherwell

The figure no.4, 1966

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Drunk with turpentine no.32, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with turpentine no.32, 1979

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Anchor no.3, 1963

Robert Motherwell

Anchor no.3, 1963

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

In black and white no.5, 1966

Robert Motherwell

In black and white no.5, 1966

Sale Date: November 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Yellow flight, 1982–1986

Robert Motherwell

Yellow flight, 1982–1986

Sale Date: November 7, 2010

Auction Closed

La casa de la Mancha, 1984

Robert Motherwell

La casa de la Mancha, 1984

Sale Date: November 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Three poems (bk w/27 works & text by Octavio Paz)

Robert Motherwell

Three poems (bk w/27 works & text by Octavio Paz)

Sale Date: November 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: October 30, 2010

Auction Closed

London series I: untitled (set of 5), 1971

Robert Motherwell

London series I: untitled (set of 5), 1971

Sale Date: October 30, 2010

Auction Closed

Automatism A (+ Automatism B; 2 works), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A (+ Automatism B; 2 works), 1966

Sale Date: October 30, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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