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

After Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Mexican elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexican elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1997–1998

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1997–1998

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

UIntitled, pl. IV (from French..., 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

UIntitled, pl. IV (from French..., 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Rite of passage III, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage III, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

The Berggruen series, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen series, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Samurai II (on 2 joined sheets), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Samurai II (on 2 joined sheets), 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Gesture IV, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV, 1976–1977

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1976

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Red sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red sea I, 1976

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite #3, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite #3, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Africa Suite #8, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite #8, 1970

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Africa Suite #6, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite #6, 1970

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Africa Suite #4, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite #4, 1970

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Madrid Suite), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Madrid Suite), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works X Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten Works X Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: November 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Delos, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Delos, 1991

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 6, 2007

Auction Closed

On stage, 1983

Robert Motherwell

On stage, 1983

Sale Date: November 4, 2007

Auction Closed

Burning sun, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Burning sun, 1985

Sale Date: November 4, 2007

Auction Closed

English (US)

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