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)
La guerra II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

La guerra II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

El general, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Easter Day 1979, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter Day 1979, 1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

España II, 1983

Robert Motherwell

España II, 1983

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Mediterranean (Yellow), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean (Yellow), 1975

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: September 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973–1973

Sale Date: September 10, 2004

Auction Closed

La Guerra I

Robert Motherwell

La Guerra I

Sale Date: September 10, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1945–1945

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1945–1945

Sale Date: September 15, 2004

Auction Closed

The garden #2, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

The garden #2, 1973–1973

Sale Date: September 15, 2004

Auction Closed

London Series I, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

London Series I, 1970–1970

Sale Date: November 11, 2003

Auction Closed

Yellow flight, 1982–1986

Robert Motherwell

Yellow flight, 1982–1986

Sale Date: November 11, 2003

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy, with crayon, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy, with crayon, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 11, 2003

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: June 30, 2004

Auction Closed

Mirror I, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Mirror I, 1989–1989

Sale Date: June 28, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1960–1960

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1960–1960

Sale Date: June 24, 2004

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961–1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961–1961

Sale Date: June 3, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970–1970

Sale Date: June 3, 2004

Auction Closed

Alberti Elegy, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Alberti Elegy, 1981–1982

Sale Date: June 4, 2004

Auction Closed

Beige open, 1981–1981

Robert Motherwell

Beige open, 1981–1981

Sale Date: May 23, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 23, 2004

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966–1966

Sale Date: May 16, 2004

Auction Closed

Open study #12, 1968–1968

Robert Motherwell

Open study #12, 1968–1968

Sale Date: May 13, 2004

Auction Closed

Elegy for the Spanish Republic, XXX, 1953–1953

Robert Motherwell

Elegy for the Spanish Republic, XXX, 1953–1953

Sale Date: May 13, 2004

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.