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)
Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Through black emerge purified, 1982–1983

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

Easter day 1979, 1980–1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day 1979, 1980–1980

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations II, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations II, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (with lines), 1965–1972

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (with lines), 1965–1972

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

El general, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

On stage, 1981–1983

Robert Motherwell

On stage, 1981–1983

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

The green studio, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

The green studio, 1985–1985

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 12, 2004

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 46 VI & 47 VII, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 46 VI & 47 VII, 1970–1970

Sale Date: December 10, 2003

Auction Closed

Primal sign II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal sign II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: December 10, 2003

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: November 29, 2003

Auction Closed

Black flag, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black flag, 1982–1983

Sale Date: November 26, 2003

Auction Closed

Nocturne VI

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne VI

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

The Dalton print, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

The Dalton print, 1979–1979

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

Airless black, 1981–1983

Robert Motherwell

Airless black, 1981–1983

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

The blue guitar

Robert Motherwell

The blue guitar

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961–1961

After Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961–1961

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1982–1982

Sale Date: November 21, 2003

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961–1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961–1961

Sale Date: November 15, 2003

Auction Closed

English (US)

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