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)
Orange and pink (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Orange and pink (from London Series II), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

London series I (from same titled series), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London series I (from same titled series), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from The Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Africa suite (from same titled series), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite (from same titled series), 1970

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Portfolio 9), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Portfolio 9), 1966

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (with crayon), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (with crayon), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 17, 2005

Auction Closed

Africa suite, pl.6, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, pl.6, 1970

Sale Date: November 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: November 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Madrid), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Madrid), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: November 14, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled open (Rose), 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled open (Rose), 1974

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Tapestry study # 5, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Tapestry study # 5, 1972

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Open # 144, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Open # 144, 1970

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Study for Shem the Penman no. 2, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Study for Shem the Penman no. 2, 1972

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 61, 1960

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 61, 1960

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

Cape Cod, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Cape Cod, 1971

Sale Date: November 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Samurai, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Samurai, 1973

Sale Date: November 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Drunk with turpentine, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with turpentine, 1979

Sale Date: November 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic # 122, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic # 122, 1972

Sale Date: November 9, 2005

Auction Closed

New England Elegy #3, 1967

Robert Motherwell

New England Elegy #3, 1967

Sale Date: November 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Norway, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1980

Sale Date: October 28, 2005

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: October 28, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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