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)
St. Michael II, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II, 1975–1979

Sale Date: June 30, 1999

Auction Closed

The Basque suite, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque suite, 1970–1971

Sale Date: June 30, 1999

Auction Closed

Gypsy curse, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Gypsy curse, 1983–1983

Sale Date: June 16, 1999

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: June 11, 1999

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Sale Date: June 11, 1999

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975–1975

Sale Date: June 9, 1999

Auction Closed

Mozart rondo, 1991–1991

Robert Motherwell

Mozart rondo, 1991–1991

Sale Date: June 9, 1999

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, 1986–1986

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, 1986–1986

Sale Date: May 28, 1999

Auction Closed

Nocturne, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne, 1988–1988

Sale Date: May 23, 1999

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy XV, 1953–1953

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy XV, 1953–1953

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

All is still (Whitman), 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

All is still (Whitman), 1970–1970

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973–1973

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage III, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage III, 1979–1980

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled (Oy/Yo), 1978–1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Oy/Yo), 1978–1978

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Réconciliation elegy. A journal of collaboration

Robert Motherwell

Réconciliation elegy. A journal of collaboration

Sale Date: May 19, 1999

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy #10, 1963–1963

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy #10, 1963–1963

Sale Date: May 18, 1999

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #116, 1970–1970

After Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #116, 1970–1970

Sale Date: May 18, 1999

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964–1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964–1964

Sale Date: May 18, 1999

Auction Closed

Frontier #12, 1958–1958

Robert Motherwell

Frontier #12, 1958–1958

Sale Date: May 14, 1999

Auction Closed

Fusains supérieurs, 1961–1961

Robert Motherwell

Fusains supérieurs, 1961–1961

Sale Date: May 13, 1999

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1981

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1981–1981

Sale Date: May 13, 1999

Auction Closed

After in brown and white

Robert Motherwell

After in brown and white

Sale Date: May 11, 1999

Auction Closed

Komposition, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

Komposition, 1987–1987

Sale Date: May 10, 1999

Auction Closed

English (US)

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