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 (from New York portfolio), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York portfolio), 1982

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues, white, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues, white, 1970

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Sirens II, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Sirens II, 1989

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Composition orange et noire

Robert Motherwell

Composition orange et noire

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa 4, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 4, 1970

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Composition abstraite en noir et vert (from..., 1970

Robert Motherwell

Composition abstraite en noir et vert (from..., 1970

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa suite #1

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite #1

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa suite #8

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite #8

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Africa 7 (from Africa)

Robert Motherwell

Africa 7 (from Africa)

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Dance III, red, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance III, red, 1978

Sale Date: June 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Ulysses (bk by James Joyce w/40 works), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses (bk by James Joyce w/40 works), 1988

Sale Date: June 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Riverrun, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Riverrun, 1988

Sale Date: June 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Blue: cobalt + white, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Blue: cobalt + white, 1968

Sale Date: June 1, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy black black, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Elegy black black, 1983

Sale Date: June 5, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, pl. 5 (from African suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, pl. 5 (from African suite), 1970

Sale Date: May 15, 2010

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1962

Sale Date: May 15, 2010

Auction Closed

Nocturn V (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Nocturn V (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1987

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Nocturn IV (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Nocturn IV (from Three poems by Octavio Paz), 1987

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Robert Motherwell prints, 1977–1979

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell prints, 1977–1979

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Abstract composition

Robert Motherwell

Abstract composition

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

Barcelona elegy for the Spanish Republic, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Barcelona elegy for the Spanish Republic, 1991

Sale Date: May 16, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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