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)
Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Through black emerging purified, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Through black emerging purified, 1982–1983

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VII, 1984–1984

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations VIII, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations VIII, 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Mask (For Ingmar Bergman), 1989–1989

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989–1989

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Red open with white line, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

Red open with white line, 1979–1979

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982–1982

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Stephen's iron crown, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Stephen's iron crown, 1981–1982

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with no way out, 1983–1983

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IV, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IV, 1984–1984

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Blue elegy, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

Blue elegy, 1987–1987

Sale Date: May 2, 1998

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: April 29, 1998

Auction Closed

Sirens I, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

Sirens I, 1988–1988

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

St. Michael II, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II, 1975–1979

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Three forms II, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Three forms II, 1989–1989

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations III, 1983–1984

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

On the wing, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

On the wing, 1983–1984

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France variations IX, 1983–1984

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Three figures, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Three figures, 1989–1989

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989–1989

Sale Date: April 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Sans titre

Robert Motherwell

Sans titre

Sale Date: April 25, 1998

Auction Closed

English (US)

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