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)
Three poems by Octavio Paz

Robert Motherwell

Three poems by Octavio Paz

Sale Date: November 4, 2000

Auction Closed

Redness of red, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

Redness of red, 1985–1985

Sale Date: November 4, 2000

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1990–1990

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1990–1990

Sale Date: November 4, 2000

Auction Closed

Monster, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Monster, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Easter day 1979, 1980–1980

Robert Motherwell

Easter day 1979, 1980–1980

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Alberti elegy, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Alberti elegy, 1982–1982

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

America-La France variations VIII, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations VIII, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

America-La France variations IX, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations IX, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Apropos Robinson Jeffers, 1981–1981

Robert Motherwell

Apropos Robinson Jeffers, 1981–1981

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

In celebration, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

In celebration, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

St. Michael I, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael I, 1979–1979

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Mediterranean, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Rite of passage III, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage III, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

On stage, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

On stage, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Black rumble, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Mediterranean, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

St. Michael II, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II, 1979–1979

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

America-La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Water's edge, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

Water's edge, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

The quarrel, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

The quarrel, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

Delos, 1991–1991

Robert Motherwell

Delos, 1991–1991

Sale Date: November 3, 2000

Auction Closed

English (US)

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