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)

Black Sounds, 1984, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Black Sounds, 1984, 1984

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Black Sun, 1987/88, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Black Sun, 1987/88, 1987

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Elegy Black Black, from El Negro, 1983, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Black Black, from El Negro, 1983, 1983

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972–1973

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Capriccio, 1961

Robert Motherwell

Capriccio, 1961

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Dance II, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance II, 1978

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (B), 1984

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (B), 1984

Sale Date: November 30, 2023

Auction Closed

Souvenir de Californie, 1953–1955

Robert Motherwell

Souvenir de Californie, 1953–1955

Sale Date: November 15, 2023

Auction Closed

London Series I: Untitled (Black), 1971, 1971

Robert Motherwell

London Series I: Untitled (Black), 1971, 1971

Sale Date: November 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Yellow Chord, 1981, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Yellow Chord, 1981, 1981

Sale Date: November 23, 2023

Auction Closed

ROTH-HANDLE , 1975

Robert Motherwell

ROTH-HANDLE , 1975

Sale Date: November 4, 2023

Auction Closed

PRIMAL SIGN IV, 1980

Robert Motherwell

PRIMAL SIGN IV, 1980

Sale Date: November 4, 2023

Auction Closed

BLACK FLAG, 1983

Robert Motherwell

BLACK FLAG, 1983

Sale Date: November 4, 2023

Auction Closed

Figure in Pink and Green, 1944

Robert Motherwell

Figure in Pink and Green, 1944

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Pauillac #1, from Summer Light Series (Belknap...

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac #1, from Summer Light Series (Belknap...

Sale Date: November 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Beau Geste IV, 1989, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste IV, 1989, 1989

Sale Date: November 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, from X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from X + X (Ten Works by Ten..., 1964

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Delos (W.A.C. 525), 1991

Robert Motherwell

Delos (W.A.C. 525), 1991

Sale Date: October 24, 2023

Auction Closed

Black for Mozart (Walker Art Center 521), 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black for Mozart (Walker Art Center 521), 1991

Sale Date: October 24, 2023

Auction Closed

American Flag, 1960, 1960

Robert Motherwell

American Flag, 1960, 1960

Sale Date: October 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Three Poems: Throw of a Dice, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems: Throw of a Dice, 1988

Sale Date: October 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972–1973

Sale Date: October 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Put Out All Flags (E. & B. 263), 1980

Robert Motherwell

Put Out All Flags (E. & B. 263), 1980

Sale Date: October 25, 2023

Auction Closed

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