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 rumble, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1985

Sale Date: May 5, 2010

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite (4 , 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite (4 , 1987–1988

Sale Date: May 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Soot black stone #5, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Soot black stone #5, 1973

Sale Date: May 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Goya's dog II, 1985–1988

Robert Motherwell

Goya's dog II, 1985–1988

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Yucatan, 1979–1984

Robert Motherwell

Yucatan, 1979–1984

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Zen V, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Zen V, 1972

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy mural (study), 1986

Robert Motherwell

Elegy mural (study), 1986

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Open no.30: in crimson with charcoal line, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open no.30: in crimson with charcoal line, 1968

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish republic, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish republic, 1962

Sale Date: May 13, 2010

Auction Closed

Guardian no. 1, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Guardian no. 1, 1966

Sale Date: May 5, 2010

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: April 28, 2010

Auction Closed

Black for Mozart, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black for Mozart, 1991

Sale Date: April 30, 2010

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #3 (+ #4: Two prints; 2 works from , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #3 (+ #4: Two prints; 2 works from , 1973

Sale Date: April 30, 2010

Auction Closed

The Red Queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Red Queen, 1989

Sale Date: April 30, 2010

Auction Closed

Gesture IV, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV, 1977

Sale Date: April 30, 2010

Auction Closed

Burning elegy, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Burning elegy, 1991

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Perpetual summer, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Perpetual summer, 1985

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy (study), 1978–1979

Robert Motherwell

Elegy (study), 1978–1979

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled - blue (from London series I), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - blue (from London series I), 1970–1971

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (various sizes; set of 6; from , 1967–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (various sizes; set of 6; from , 1967–1988

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy - with crayon, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy - with crayon, 1966

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten works by ten painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten works by ten painters), 1964

Sale Date: May 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Wind, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Wind, 1982–1983

Sale Date: April 18, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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