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)
Lament for Lorca, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

The Berggruen series (set of 4), 1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen series (set of 4), 1980

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works)

Robert Motherwell

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works)

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

St. Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1977

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Gesture II

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Gesture I, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture I, 1977

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Mediterranean (+ Vivo; 2 works, 1..., 1975–1986

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean (+ Vivo; 2 works, 1..., 1975–1986

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Roth-händle, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Roth-händle, 1974

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Soot-black stone #1-6 (6 works), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Soot-black stone #1-6 (6 works), 1975

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Window (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Robert Motherwell

Window (from Hommage à Picasso), 1973

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

The black Douglas stone, 1971

Robert Motherwell

The black Douglas stone, 1971

Sale Date: November 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Automatism elegy, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Automatism elegy, 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Tan/Blue (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Tan/Blue (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Black/Yellow/White (from London Series..., 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Black/Yellow/White (from London Series..., 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Orange/Pink (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Orange/Pink (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Blue (from London Series I), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Blue (from London Series I), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Orange (from London Series I), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Orange (from London Series I), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: October 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1943–1984

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1943–1984

Sale Date: October 10, 2006

Auction Closed

Rite of passage I, 1943–1984

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage I, 1943–1984

Sale Date: October 10, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1976

Sale Date: October 16, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1976

Sale Date: September 26, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: October 11, 2006

Auction Closed

English (US)

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