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)
Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Three poems (portfolio of 25 w/colophon and text

Robert Motherwell

Three poems (portfolio of 25 w/colophon and text

Sale Date: November 19, 2009

Auction Closed

Summer trident, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident, 1990

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Nocturne II (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne II (from Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 20, 2009

Auction Closed

Three young birds waiting to be fed, 1952

Robert Motherwell

Three young birds waiting to be fed, 1952

Sale Date: November 11, 2009

Auction Closed

Summer seaside night, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Summer seaside night, 1974

Sale Date: November 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Scarlet open, with green and ochre..., 1970–1972

Robert Motherwell

Scarlet open, with green and ochre..., 1970–1972

Sale Date: November 12, 2009

Auction Closed

German line no. 3, 1972

Robert Motherwell

German line no. 3, 1972

Sale Date: November 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Mariner (previously titled Man, in grey), 1948

Robert Motherwell

Mariner (previously titled Man, in grey), 1948

Sale Date: November 12, 2009

Auction Closed

Guardian no. 1, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Guardian no. 1, 1966

Sale Date: November 11, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque suite), 1971

Sale Date: November 15, 2009

Auction Closed

La Guerra I, 1980

Robert Motherwell

La Guerra I, 1980

Sale Date: November 15, 2009

Auction Closed

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt portfolio), 1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer Trident (from Harvey Gantt portfolio), 1990

Sale Date: November 15, 2009

Auction Closed

St. Michael I - State II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I - State II, 1979

Sale Date: November 15, 2009

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy no.17, 1953

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy no.17, 1953

Sale Date: November 10, 2009

Auction Closed

Untitled (pl. 5 from Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (pl. 5 from Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Australia, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Australia, 1983

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1983

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues, raw umber edge, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues, raw umber edge, 1971

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Primal sign IV

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign IV

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Primal sign III, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign III, 1980

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Primal sign II, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign II, 1980

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

Primal sign I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 1, 2009

Auction Closed

English (US)

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