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.

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

At Five in the Afternoon, 1971
Sold price: 12,690,000 USD

Robert Motherwell Artworks

Robert Motherwell (7,271 results)

Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Sale Date: December 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Figuration, 1947

Robert Motherwell

Figuration, 1947

Sale Date: December 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Black on Black, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Black on Black, 1978

Sale Date: December 5, 2023

Auction Closed

o.T. aus: X + X (Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

o.T. aus: X + X (Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: November 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Window, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Sale Date: November 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (aus: New York International), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (aus: New York International), 1966

Sale Date: November 25, 2023

Auction Closed

The Robinson Jeffers Print, in: Apropos, 1981

Robert Motherwell

The Robinson Jeffers Print, in: Apropos, 1981

Sale Date: November 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite (set of 27), 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite (set of 27), 1988

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

The Aberdeen Stone, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Aberdeen Stone, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Primal Sign IV, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Primal Sign IV, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled., 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled., 1966

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Gauloises Bleues., 1968

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises Bleues., 1968

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite #2., 1970

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite #2., 1970

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite #10., 1970

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite #10., 1970

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Automatism A., 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A., 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite #1., 1970

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite #1., 1970

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

The Razor's Edge., 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Razor's Edge., 1985

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Put out All Flags., 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Put out All Flags., 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Game of Chance., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Game of Chance., 1987

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1947

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1947

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Africa 6 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 6 (from the Africa suite), 1970

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Oy/Yo, 1978, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Oy/Yo, 1978, 1978

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

On the Wing, 1984, 1984

Robert Motherwell

On the Wing, 1984, 1984

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Paris Suite II (Summer), 1979-80, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Paris Suite II (Summer), 1979-80, 1979

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

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