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 (from New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: July 31, 2008

Auction Closed

Beau Geste (portfolio of 6 works), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste (portfolio of 6 works), 1989

Sale Date: July 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Norway, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1980

Sale Date: July 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Frontispiece (from A la pintura), 1972–1979

Robert Motherwell

Frontispiece (from A la pintura), 1972–1979

Sale Date: June 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Mexican city personages III, 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexican city personages III, 1986–1988

Sale Date: June 15, 2008

Auction Closed

Beau Geste IV, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste IV, 1989

Sale Date: June 15, 2008

Auction Closed

Beau Geste VII, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste VII, 1989

Sale Date: June 15, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1980

Sale Date: June 14, 2008

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: June 12, 2008

Auction Closed

Pauillac no. 1, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac no. 1, 1973

Sale Date: June 3, 2008

Auction Closed

San Ildefonso nocturne

Robert Motherwell

San Ildefonso nocturne

Sale Date: May 7, 2008

Auction Closed

From the Madrid suite, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

From the Madrid suite, 1965–1966

Sale Date: May 7, 2008

Auction Closed

New York cultural institutions

Robert Motherwell

New York cultural institutions

Sale Date: May 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Black/Yellow/White

Robert Motherwell

Black/Yellow/White

Sale Date: May 7, 2008

Auction Closed

From the Madrid suite, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

From the Madrid suite, 1965–1966

Sale Date: May 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Black Flag, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black Flag, 1982–1983

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Harvest with leaf (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest with leaf (from Summer Light Series), 1973

Sale Date: May 17, 2008

Auction Closed

Sirens II, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Sirens II, 1988

Sale Date: May 9, 2008

Auction Closed

Sirens I, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Sirens I, 1988

Sale Date: May 9, 2008

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: May 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled - Red vertical lines

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - Red vertical lines

Sale Date: May 18, 2008

Auction Closed

St. Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: May 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: May 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Hommage a Picasso, window, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Hommage a Picasso, window, 1973

Sale Date: May 21, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.