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)
America-la France Variations IX, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-la France Variations IX, 1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

America-la France Variations VI, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America-la France Variations VI, 1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Airless black, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Airless black, 1983

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Black Wall of Spain, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black Wall of Spain, 1983

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

La Guerra II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

La Guerra II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

El general, 1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Easter day, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day, 1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

St. Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1977

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Gesture II (State I), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II (State I), 1977

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Monster, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Monster, 1975

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Roth-händle, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-händle, 1974–1975

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Harvest, in Scotland (from Summer Light..., 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, in Scotland (from Summer Light..., 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

The Highlands, 1973

Robert Motherwell

The Highlands, 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Harvest with orange stripe, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest with orange stripe, 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Harvest with blue bottom, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest with blue bottom, 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

A la Pintura: Black 5-11, 1972

Robert Motherwell

A la Pintura: Black 5-11, 1972

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy with lines, 1966

Sale Date: September 28, 2005

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1982

Sale Date: September 16, 2005

Auction Closed

Red head, 1946

Robert Motherwell

Red head, 1946

Sale Date: September 23, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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