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

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Primal sign 1

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign 1

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1979

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972–1979

Sale Date: December 13, 2009

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: December 5, 2009

Auction Closed

St. Michael I (State II), 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I (State II), 1979

Sale Date: December 6, 2009

Auction Closed

Elegy

Robert Motherwell

Elegy

Sale Date: December 5, 2009

Auction Closed

Ulysses (bk w/ 40 works, title, justif. , 1985–1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses (bk w/ 40 works, title, justif. , 1985–1988

Sale Date: December 3, 2009

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: December 3, 2009

Auction Closed

A la pintura (frontispiece from A la..., 1972–1979

Robert Motherwell

A la pintura (frontispiece from A la..., 1972–1979

Sale Date: December 4, 2009

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: November 23, 2009

Auction Closed

Beau geste, pl. 1, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, pl. 1, 1989

Sale Date: November 23, 2009

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ Another, from The Octavio..., 1967–1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (+ Another, from The Octavio..., 1967–1968

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ Another, from The Octavio..., 1967–1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (+ Another, from The Octavio..., 1967–1968

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite,..., 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite,..., 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro, 1973

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Africa Suite no.8, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite no.8, 1970

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Africa Suite no. 1, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite no. 1, 1970

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Madrid suite (group of 3), 1965

Robert Motherwell

Madrid suite (group of 3), 1965

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

English (US)

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