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)
The Berggruen series III, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen series III, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 10, 2002

Auction Closed

Poet I, 1961–1962

Robert Motherwell

Poet I, 1961–1962

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Black wall of Spain, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black wall of Spain, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982–1982

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Three poems by Octavio Paz

Robert Motherwell

Three poems by Octavio Paz

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Airless black, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Airless black, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

In white with green stripe

Robert Motherwell

In white with green stripe

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Elegy study I, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy study I, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Black cathedral, 1991–1991

Robert Motherwell

Black cathedral, 1991–1991

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Mediterranean, state 1 white, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean, state 1 white, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

The celtic stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The celtic stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

El general, 1980–1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1980–1980

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

El negro, 1980–1983

Robert Motherwell

El negro, 1980–1983

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

The razor's edge, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

The razor's edge, 1985–1985

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

America - La France variations II, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations II, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 9, 2002

Auction Closed

Elegy black black, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Elegy black black, 1982–1983

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

Red sea II, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

Red sea II, 1979–1979

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

Mexican night II, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican night II, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

English (US)

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