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)
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

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

Three figures, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Beau geste VII, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste VII, 1989

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Beau geste II, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste II, 1989

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

The Persian II, 1984–1985

Robert Motherwell

The Persian II, 1984–1985

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Summer light series: Pauillac, #1, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer light series: Pauillac, #1, 1973

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Five circles, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Five circles, 1971–1972

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Basque Suite), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues, 1968

Sale Date: October 19, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 29, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 29, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 29, 2004

Auction Closed

The wall of the temple (study), 1950

Robert Motherwell

The wall of the temple (study), 1950

Sale Date: September 29, 2004

Auction Closed

Wanderers, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Wanderers, 1985

Sale Date: October 3, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: September 19, 2004

Auction Closed

Beau geste (from same titled suite), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste (from same titled suite), 1989

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variation XI, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variation XI, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variation VII, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variation VII, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Stephen's iron crown, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Stephen's iron crown, 1981–1982

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

English (US)

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