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)
St. Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Beau geste III, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste III, 1989

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Beau geste VI, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste VI, 1989

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Beau geste IV, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste IV, 1989

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, pl.3 (from Africa), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, pl.3 (from Africa), 1970

Sale Date: April 24, 2010

Auction Closed

Signs on copper, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Signs on copper, 1981

Sale Date: April 24, 2010

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Gesture IV, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV, 1977

Sale Date: April 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Paris - Suite II/Summer, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Paris - Suite II/Summer, 1980

Sale Date: April 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: April 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Chicago art print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Chicago art print, 1981

Sale Date: March 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 116, 1970

After Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 116, 1970

Sale Date: April 6, 2010

Auction Closed

The Red Queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Red Queen, 1989

Sale Date: March 31, 2010

Auction Closed

Bastos, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Bastos, 1974–1975

Sale Date: March 14, 2010

Auction Closed

Hollow men suite no. 3 (from the series of..., 1986

Robert Motherwell

Hollow men suite no. 3 (from the series of..., 1986

Sale Date: March 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Open #94, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Open #94, 1969

Sale Date: March 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: February 22, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, black and white abstract, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, black and white abstract, 1968

Sale Date: February 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Sirens I, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Sirens I, 1988

Sale Date: February 15, 2010

Auction Closed

Dance III

Robert Motherwell

Dance III

Sale Date: December 5, 2009

Auction Closed

Bistre signes

Robert Motherwell

Bistre signes

Sale Date: December 5, 2009

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, 1970

Sale Date: December 17, 2009

Auction Closed

Black for Mozart

Robert Motherwell

Black for Mozart

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

English (US)

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