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)
Dance III (Red), 1978–1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance III (Red), 1978–1978

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

Three poems by Octavio Paz, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Three poems by Octavio Paz, 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 6, 2002

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975–1975

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

El general, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

El general, 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

#5, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

#5, 1970–1970

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

Paulliac #1, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

Paulliac #1, 1973–1973

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

Mexico City personages III, 1986–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personages III, 1986–1988

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

Australian stone, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Australian stone, 1983–1984

Sale Date: October 14, 2002

Auction Closed

Drunk with turpentine, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with turpentine, 1979–1979

Sale Date: September 26, 2002

Auction Closed

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of chance, 1987–1987

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

America-La France variations III, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations III, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

America-La France variations IV, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations IV, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

In white with green stripe, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

In white with green stripe, 1987–1987

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

La guerra I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

La guerra I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966–1966

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

Black cathedral, 1991–1991

Robert Motherwell

Black cathedral, 1991–1991

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues, 1968–1968

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues, 1968–1968

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

America-La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

America-La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations VI, 1983–1984

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

Three forms II, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Three forms II, 1989–1989

Sale Date: September 25, 2002

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite, pl.4, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite, pl.4, 1970–1970

Sale Date: September 20, 2002

Auction Closed

The Basque suite, pl.8, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

The Basque suite, pl.8, 1970–1970

Sale Date: September 20, 2002

Auction Closed

Lines for St. Gallen, 1971–1971

Robert Motherwell

Lines for St. Gallen, 1971–1971

Sale Date: June 20, 2002

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.