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)
Wind, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Wind, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

A throw of the dice, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

A throw of the dice, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Untitled, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Return, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Nocturne VIII, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VIII, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Nocturne VI, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VI, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Nocturne V, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne V, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Nocturne IV, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne IV, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Nocturne III, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne III, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Nocturne II, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne II, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Nocturne I, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne I, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Three poems by Octavio Paz, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Three poems by Octavio Paz, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Octavio Paz suite, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz suite, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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America - La France variations IX, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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America - La France variations II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations II, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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America - La France variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IV, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IV, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VI, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VI, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

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Black sounds, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Black sounds, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Through black emerge purified

Robert Motherwell

Through black emerge purified

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1982

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

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