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 New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from New York International), 1966

Sale Date: March 26, 2005

Auction Closed

Automatism B

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B

Sale Date: March 26, 2005

Auction Closed

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (portfolio of 6), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (portfolio of 6), 1989

Sale Date: March 21, 2005

Auction Closed

St. Michael 2, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael 2, 1975–1979

Sale Date: March 14, 2005

Auction Closed

Celtic stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Celtic stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 14, 2005

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 116, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic no. 116, 1970

Sale Date: March 15, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1990

Sale Date: March 4, 2005

Auction Closed

The Robinson Jeffers print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

The Robinson Jeffers print, 1981

Sale Date: March 4, 2005

Auction Closed

Black sounds, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Black sounds, 1983–1984

Sale Date: March 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Basque), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Basque), 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Basque), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Basque), 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: February 22, 2005

Auction Closed

Springtime dissonance, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Springtime dissonance, 1979–1980

Sale Date: March 10, 2005

Auction Closed

Beside the sea

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea

Sale Date: October 16, 2003

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

La Casa de la Mancha, 1984

Robert Motherwell

La Casa de la Mancha, 1984

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VIII, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VIII, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

America - La France variations III, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations III, 1984

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

America - La France variations II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations II, 1984

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Bloomsday, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Bloomsday, 1982

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Delta, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Delta, 1982

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

St. Mark's, 1980

Robert Motherwell

St. Mark's, 1980

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

Springtime dissonance, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Springtime dissonance, 1980

Sale Date: February 8, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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