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)
Beau Geste I (+ Beau Geste V; 2 works), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste I (+ Beau Geste V; 2 works), 1989

Sale Date: March 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Black sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: March 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Gesture I (State I), 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture I (State I), 1976–1977

Sale Date: March 6, 2007

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973

Sale Date: March 2, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: March 2, 2007

Auction Closed

Bird study, 1954

Robert Motherwell

Bird study, 1954

Sale Date: February 26, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled - Bird, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Untitled - Bird, 1958

Sale Date: February 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Bistre signes, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Bistre signes, 1984

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

America-La France Variations VI, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France Variations VI, 1984

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Primal sign I, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign I, 1980

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

El general, 1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1980

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Samurai II, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Samurai II, 1980

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Easter day, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day, 1980

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite, 1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite, 1971

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Africa Suite (group of 4), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite (group of 4), 1970

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Portfolio 9), 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Portfolio 9), 1967

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

New York international - Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

New York international - Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: February 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Sans titre, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Sans titre, 1972

Sale Date: November 29, 2006

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, 1977

Sale Date: November 30, 2006

Auction Closed

España, 1990

Robert Motherwell

España, 1990

Sale Date: December 2, 2006

Auction Closed

English (US)

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