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 Three Poems by Octavio Paz), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Three Poems by Octavio Paz), 1989

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

San Ildefonso nocturne, pl. IV (from Three..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

San Ildefonso nocturne, pl. IV (from Three..., 1989

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

San Ildefonso nocturne, pl. I (from Three..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

San Ildefonso nocturne, pl. I (from Three..., 1989

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Long point music I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Long point music I, 1989

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Wanderers, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Wanderers, 1986

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Black concentrated, 1981–1981

Robert Motherwell

Black concentrated, 1981–1981

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Beau geste I-VI (portfolio of 6), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste I-VI (portfolio of 6), 1989

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Delta, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Delta, 1981–1982

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy, 1965–1966

Sale Date: October 24, 1990

Auction Closed

Altamira Elegy (incl. The Reconcilition , 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Altamira Elegy (incl. The Reconcilition , 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 15, 2005

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: June 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1950–1959

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1950–1959

Sale Date: July 12, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Monster, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Monster, 1974–1975

Sale Date: June 11, 2005

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973

Sale Date: June 11, 2005

Auction Closed

St. Michel III, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michel III, 1975–1979

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Harvest in Scotland, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest in Scotland, 1973

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Pauillac, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, 1973

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Celtic stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Celtic stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Abstract composition

Robert Motherwell

Abstract composition

Sale Date: June 27, 2005

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: June 17, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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