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)
Slate Gray Pintura, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Slate Gray Pintura, 1975

Sale Date: April 25, 2024

Auction Closed

Maritime Collage #3, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Maritime Collage #3, 1967

Sale Date: April 24, 2024

Auction Closed

Game of Chance (Walker Art Center 377), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance (Walker Art Center 377), 1987

Sale Date: April 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Two White Stripes (from the..., 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Two White Stripes (from the..., 1973

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Beau geste III (from the Beau geste suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste III (from the Beau geste suite), 1989

Sale Date: April 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Water's Edge (T. 453, E. & B. 339), 1984

Robert Motherwell

Water's Edge (T. 453, E. & B. 339), 1984

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

On the Wing (T. 454, E. & B. 340), 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the Wing (T. 454, E. & B. 340), 1984

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Three Figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three Figures, 1989

Sale Date: April 16, 2024

Auction Closed

No. 3, from The Basque Suite, 1970

Robert Motherwell

No. 3, from The Basque Suite, 1970

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

No. 4, from The Basque Suite, 1970

Robert Motherwell

No. 4, from The Basque Suite, 1970

Sale Date: April 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Nocturne VI (from Three Poems), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VI (from Three Poems), 1988

Sale Date: April 25, 2024

Auction Closed

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989

Sale Date: April 16, 2024

Auction Closed

Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, 25th Anniversary, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, 25th Anniversary, 1991

Sale Date: April 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1966

Sale Date: April 7, 2024

Auction Closed

Grey Open with White Paint, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Grey Open with White Paint, 1981

Sale Date: March 15, 2024

Auction Closed

Gesture IV (State I), 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV (State I), 1976–1977

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: March 26, 2024

Auction Closed

Black with Ochre, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Black with Ochre, 1967

Sale Date: March 13, 2024

Auction Closed

ROOTS OF ABSTRACT ART IN AMERICA 1910-1930, 1965

Robert Motherwell

ROOTS OF ABSTRACT ART IN AMERICA 1910-1930, 1965

Sale Date: March 6, 2024

Auction Closed

Los Angeles Sun, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Los Angeles Sun, 1979–1980

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

Africa 10, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 10, 1970

Sale Date: March 20, 2024

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle, 1975

Sale Date: March 14, 2024

Auction Closed

Oy/yo (Belknap 196), 1978

Robert Motherwell

Oy/yo (Belknap 196), 1978

Sale Date: March 4, 2024

Auction Closed

Red Open with White Line (Belknap 207), 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Open with White Line (Belknap 207), 1979

Sale Date: March 4, 2024

Auction Closed

English (US)

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