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)
Africa suite, pl. 1 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, pl. 1 (from Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: September 15, 2006

Auction Closed

The poet's eye, 1990

Robert Motherwell

The poet's eye, 1990

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Yellow flight, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Yellow flight, 1986

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Black rumble, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1985

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations IX, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations IX, 1984

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York Portfolio), 1982

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works, various..., 1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day (+ 2 others; 3 works, various..., 1980

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

St. Michael I, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I, 1979

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Harvest, with leaf (from The Summer Light..., 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with leaf (from The Summer Light..., 1973

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1971

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: September 27, 2006

Auction Closed

Open study no. 9, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open study no. 9, 1968

Sale Date: September 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Maritime collage #3, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Maritime collage #3, 1967

Sale Date: September 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: July 11, 2006

Auction Closed

In brown and white, 1970

Robert Motherwell

In brown and white, 1970

Sale Date: July 11, 2006

Auction Closed

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Sale Date: June 28, 2006

Auction Closed

Drawing, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Drawing, 1958

Sale Date: June 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: June 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Beau geste II, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste II, 1989

Sale Date: June 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1971–1972

Sale Date: June 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 21, 2006

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Sale Date: June 19, 2006

Auction Closed

English (US)

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