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, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: April 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Madrid suite, number 5, 1956–1966

Robert Motherwell

Madrid suite, number 5, 1956–1966

Sale Date: March 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Return (from Three Poems by Octavio Paz), 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return (from Three Poems by Octavio Paz), 1986–1988

Sale Date: February 10, 2008

Auction Closed

New York International: Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

New York International: Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: February 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Mexio City Personages III (from Three..., 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexio City Personages III (from Three..., 1986–1988

Sale Date: February 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (+ Untitled; 2 works), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (+ Untitled; 2 works), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Drunk with turpentine no.27, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with turpentine no.27, 1979

Sale Date: February 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled - From Ten Works by Ten Painters, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - From Ten Works by Ten Painters, 1964

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Black rumble, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1985

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Bistre signes, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Bistre signes, 1984

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Running elegy, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Running elegy, 1983

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled - From The Berggruen Series, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - From The Berggruen Series, 1980

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1979

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Untitled - From London Series II, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - From London Series II, 1971

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Africa 7 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 7 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: February 8, 2008

Auction Closed

The Dalton print, 1979

Robert Motherwell

The Dalton print, 1979

Sale Date: December 18, 2007

Auction Closed

The Paris Review

Robert Motherwell

The Paris Review

Sale Date: December 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Vivo - Sepia, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Vivo - Sepia, 1986

Sale Date: November 29, 2007

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: November 30, 2007

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: November 27, 2007

Auction Closed

Je t'aime ce dessin me plait, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Je t'aime ce dessin me plait, 1977

Sale Date: November 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Red wind, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Red wind, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 11, 2007

Auction Closed

African suite

Robert Motherwell

African suite

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Nip and tuck, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Nip and tuck, 1984

Sale Date: November 19, 2007

Auction Closed

English (US)

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