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)
Newport Opera, 1977-1979, 1977–1979

Robert Motherwell

Newport Opera, 1977-1979, 1977–1979

Sale Date: January 27, 2024

Auction Closed

Three Poems: Nocturne II, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems: Nocturne II, 1988

Sale Date: January 31, 2024

Auction Closed

Three Poems: Nocturne V, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems: Nocturne V, 1988

Sale Date: January 31, 2024

Auction Closed

Three Poems. Tres Poemas. New York: Limited...

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems. Tres Poemas. New York: Limited...

Sale Date: November 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Apropos Robinson Jeffers Long Beach, California:

Robert Motherwell

Apropos Robinson Jeffers Long Beach, California:

Sale Date: November 7, 2023

Auction Closed

(LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB.) Motherwell, Robert and...

Robert Motherwell

(LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB.) Motherwell, Robert and...

Sale Date: October 26, 2023

Auction Closed

Soot-Black Stone, #6, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Soot-Black Stone, #6, 1975

Sale Date: January 19, 2024

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach (E. & B. 471), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach (E. & B. 471), 1989

Sale Date: January 18, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the New York International..., 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the New York International..., 1966

Sale Date: January 10, 2024

Auction Closed

Three Poems: Burnt Water, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems: Burnt Water, 1988

Sale Date: January 1, 2024

Auction Closed

Black Sun, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black Sun, 1987–1988

Sale Date: December 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Mulligan's Tower, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Mulligan's Tower, 1983

Sale Date: December 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle, 1975

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Gesture II (State I), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II (State I), 1977

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Lyric Suite: Bleeding Black No. 1, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite: Bleeding Black No. 1, 1965

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Berggruen series) (four..., 1980

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Berggruen series) (four..., 1980

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Basque suite), 1971

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the London Series II), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the London Series II), 1971

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Elegy Study, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study, 1979

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Flight portfolio), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Flight portfolio), 1970

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Beau Geste III, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste III, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Sale Date: December 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Beau Geste VI, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste VI, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Sale Date: December 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Beau Geste V, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste V, from Beau Geste Suite, 1989

Sale Date: December 6, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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