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)
America la france (variation ix), 1983

Robert Motherwell

America la france (variation ix), 1983

Sale Date: May 27, 2010

Auction Closed

roth handle ii, 1975

Robert Motherwell

roth handle ii, 1975

Sale Date: August 25, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled no. 12 (from the basque suite), 1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled no. 12 (from the basque suite), 1972

Sale Date: June 29, 2010

Auction Closed

London series i, 1971

Robert Motherwell

London series i, 1971

Sale Date: September 3, 2009

Auction Closed

Tobacco roth-handle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco roth-handle, 1975

Sale Date: September 29, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled- green (from London series I), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled- green (from London series I), 1970

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa 2 & Africa 7 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 2 & Africa 7 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Norway, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1980

Sale Date: January 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Beau geste iii, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste iii, 1989

Sale Date: January 6, 2010

Auction Closed

Signs in copper, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Signs in copper, 1981

Sale Date: July 20, 2010

Auction Closed

Summer trident, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident, 1990

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Octavio Paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Pauillac no. 1 (from Summer light series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac no. 1 (from Summer light series), 1973

Sale Date: July 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Black sun (from octovio paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Black sun (from octovio paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: July 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (from octovio paz suite), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from octovio paz suite), 1988

Sale Date: July 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: June 26, 2010

Auction Closed

James Joyce. Ulysses (bk w/40 works), 1985

Robert Motherwell

James Joyce. Ulysses (bk w/40 works), 1985

Sale Date: June 24, 2010

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer shapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer shapiro, 1973

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Mexican elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexican elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Bistre signs, 1979–1984

Robert Motherwell

Bistre signs, 1979–1984

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Madrid suite (3 works), 1965

Robert Motherwell

Madrid suite (3 works), 1965

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Madrid suite, no. 7 (from Madrid suite..., 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Madrid suite, no. 7 (from Madrid suite..., 1965–1966

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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