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)
Madrid suite E, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Madrid suite E, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Manchester collage, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Manchester collage, 1966

Sale Date: November 12, 2008

Auction Closed

America la France- variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America la France- variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 2, 2008

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Mexican night II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican night II, 1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues (Yellow with black square), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues (Yellow with black square), 1971

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Africa 4 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 4 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Africa 1 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 1 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Mémoires

Robert Motherwell

Mémoires

Sale Date: October 20, 2008

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Lines for St. Gallen, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Lines for St. Gallen, 1971

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Seaside studio, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Seaside studio, 1990

Sale Date: October 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: October 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: October 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Africa Suite: Africa 5-10 (6 works), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite: Africa 5-10 (6 works), 1970

Sale Date: October 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Blue: cobalt + white, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Blue: cobalt + white, 1968

Sale Date: October 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Bleu gesture/Untitled (2works), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Bleu gesture/Untitled (2works), 1987

Sale Date: October 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: October 29, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

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