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 face du silence, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

La face du silence, 1973–1973

Sale Date: December 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: December 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Composition, 1941–1941

Robert Motherwell

Composition, 1941–1941

Sale Date: December 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Abstract

Robert Motherwell

Abstract

Sale Date: December 3, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled D, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled D, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 27, 2001

Auction Closed

Abtsraction

Robert Motherwell

Abtsraction

Sale Date: November 25, 2001

Auction Closed

Frontier #5, 1958–1958

Robert Motherwell

Frontier #5, 1958–1958

Sale Date: November 15, 2001

Auction Closed

Nicht werfen with yellow stripes, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Nicht werfen with yellow stripes, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 14, 2001

Auction Closed

Open #151 (In ultramarine with charcoal , 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Open #151 (In ultramarine with charcoal , 1970–1970

Sale Date: November 14, 2001

Auction Closed

Suchard on orange #1, 1971–1971

Robert Motherwell

Suchard on orange #1, 1971–1971

Sale Date: November 14, 2001

Auction Closed

Cabaret I, 1974–1974

After Robert Motherwell

Cabaret I, 1974–1974

Sale Date: November 13, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1985–1985

Sale Date: November 13, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1965

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1965

Sale Date: November 13, 2001

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (With lines), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (With lines), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 13, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled: Two figures, 1944–1945

Robert Motherwell

Untitled: Two figures, 1944–1945

Sale Date: November 13, 2001

Auction Closed

Black open, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

Black open, 1985–1985

Sale Date: November 7, 2001

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 7, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Slate gray pintura, 1973–1975

Robert Motherwell

Slate gray pintura, 1973–1975

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (with lines), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (with lines), 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Paroles Peintes III), 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Paroles Peintes III), 1966–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 5, 2001

Auction Closed

English (US)

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