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)
Untitled, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1982–1982

Sale Date: September 25, 1998

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1982–1982

Sale Date: September 25, 1998

Auction Closed

Paris review, 1965–1965

Robert Motherwell

Paris review, 1965–1965

Sale Date: September 17, 1998

Auction Closed

Return, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Return, 1988–1988

Sale Date: September 13, 1998

Auction Closed

Burnt water, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Burnt water, 1988–1988

Sale Date: September 13, 1998

Auction Closed

Beau Geste

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste

Sale Date: September 13, 1998

Auction Closed

Blue gesture, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Blue gesture, 1988–1988

Sale Date: July 12, 1998

Auction Closed

Black sun, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black sun, 1988–1988

Sale Date: July 12, 1998

Auction Closed

Mexico City personage I, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City personage I, 1988–1988

Sale Date: July 12, 1998

Auction Closed

The red and the black no.52, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

The red and the black no.52, 1987–1987

Sale Date: July 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Sale Date: June 26, 1998

Auction Closed

Dit d'un jour, 1956–1956

Robert Motherwell

Dit d'un jour, 1956–1956

Sale Date: June 24, 1998

Auction Closed

Window, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

Window, 1973–1973

Sale Date: June 6, 1998

Auction Closed

Samurai II, 1978–1979

Robert Motherwell

Samurai II, 1978–1979

Sale Date: June 5, 1998

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: June 3, 1998

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: May 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Paroles peintes, 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Paroles peintes, 1966–1966

Sale Date: May 19, 1998

Auction Closed

Drunk with turpentine IX, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with turpentine IX, 1979–1979

Sale Date: May 15, 1998

Auction Closed

Composition, 1957–1957

Robert Motherwell

Composition, 1957–1957

Sale Date: May 15, 1998

Auction Closed

Beside the sea with black stripe, 1962–1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea with black stripe, 1962–1962

Sale Date: May 14, 1998

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #134, 1974–1974

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #134, 1974–1974

Sale Date: May 14, 1998

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966–1966

Sale Date: May 14, 1998

Auction Closed

Dance I, 1978–1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance I, 1978–1978

Sale Date: May 14, 1998

Auction Closed

Mediterranean interior and black table, 1956–1956

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean interior and black table, 1956–1956

Sale Date: May 13, 1998

Auction Closed

English (US)

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