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)
Hollow man's cave, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Hollow man's cave, 1991

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Black cathedral, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black cathedral, 1991

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Burning elegy, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Burning elegy, 1991

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Black rumble (+ Black sounds, 1984,..., 1985

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble (+ Black sounds, 1984,..., 1985

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Water's edge, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Water's edge, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IV, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IV, 1983–1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations II, 1984

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

La guerra II (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1980

Robert Motherwell

La guerra II (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1980

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Rite of passage II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Gesture I, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture I, 1977

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Red sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red sea I, 1976

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Roth-handle II (Red), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-handle II (Red), 1975

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Mediterranean (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean (+ 2 others; 3 works), 1975

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Poe's abyss, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Poe's abyss, 1975

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled (+ St. Michael I, 1979, color..., 1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (+ St. Michael I, 1979, color..., 1972

Sale Date: October 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1985

Sale Date: November 10, 2004

Auction Closed

Summer studio with sea, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Summer studio with sea, 1983

Sale Date: November 10, 2004

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: October 17, 2004

Auction Closed

Beau geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste, 1989

Sale Date: October 17, 2004

Auction Closed

English (US)

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