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)
Africa

Robert Motherwell

Africa

Sale Date: December 5, 1997

Auction Closed

Three poems by Octavio Paz

Robert Motherwell

Three poems by Octavio Paz

Sale Date: November 24, 1997

Auction Closed

Black 1-3, 1969–1969

Robert Motherwell

Black 1-3, 1969–1969

Sale Date: November 21, 1997

Auction Closed

In Plato's Cave, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

In Plato's Cave, 1973–1973

Sale Date: November 20, 1997

Auction Closed

Leda no.1, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

Leda no.1, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 20, 1997

Auction Closed

Indian summer #1, 1962–1964

Robert Motherwell

Indian summer #1, 1962–1964

Sale Date: November 20, 1997

Auction Closed

Gauloises, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises, 1970–1970

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Suchard on orange #1, 1971–1971

Robert Motherwell

Suchard on orange #1, 1971–1971

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1949–1949

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1949–1949

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Black 17, 1963–1963

Robert Motherwell

Black 17, 1963–1963

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Open #94, 1969–1969

Robert Motherwell

Open #94, 1969–1969

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled (Spanish death), 1980–1980

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Spanish death), 1980–1980

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Revolution CIII, 1965–1965

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Revolution CIII, 1965–1965

Sale Date: November 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: November 18, 1997

Auction Closed

Abstract form

Robert Motherwell

Abstract form

Sale Date: November 13, 1997

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 13, 1997

Auction Closed

The red queen, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

The red queen, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 13, 1997

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy, with blue, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy, with blue, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 11, 1997

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy, with crayon, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy, with crayon, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 11, 1997

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979–1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979–1979

Sale Date: November 11, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 11, 1997

Auction Closed

Tobacco roth-handle, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco roth-handle, 1974–1975

Sale Date: November 11, 1997

Auction Closed

A la pintura

Robert Motherwell

A la pintura

Sale Date: November 9, 1997

Auction Closed

Samurai, 1971–1971

Robert Motherwell

Samurai, 1971–1971

Sale Date: November 9, 1997

Auction Closed

English (US)

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