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 (from Basque Suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Basque Suite), 1971

Sale Date: February 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: February 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Sale Date: February 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Spoleto poster, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto poster, 1968

Sale Date: January 12, 2006

Auction Closed

Erupting, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Erupting, 1987

Sale Date: December 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (portfolio of 6), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (portfolio of 6), 1989

Sale Date: December 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Sale Date: December 11, 2005

Auction Closed

America-La France variations II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations II, 1984

Sale Date: December 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (exhibition poster), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel (exhibition poster), 1979

Sale Date: December 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Three poems, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Three poems, 1987

Sale Date: November 20, 2005

Auction Closed

Three poems, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Three poems, 1987

Sale Date: November 20, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 23, 2005

Auction Closed

Abstract composition, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Abstract composition, 1991

Sale Date: November 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste (from same titled suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste (from same titled suite), 1989

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach, 1989

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Octavio Paz suite), 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Mexico City personages II (from Octavio , 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personages II (from Octavio , 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

In white with green stripe, 1987

Robert Motherwell

In white with green stripe, 1987

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Rite of passage II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

The Dalton print, 1979

Robert Motherwell

The Dalton print, 1979

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Atascadero III, 1973–1976

Robert Motherwell

Atascadero III, 1973–1976

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Mediterranean (State II yellow), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean (State II yellow), 1975

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Summer light series: Paulliac, # 4, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer light series: Paulliac, # 4, 1973

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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