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)
Summer trident, 1990–1990

Robert Motherwell

Summer trident, 1990–1990

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite II, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite II, 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite IV, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite IV, 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

The wave, 1974–1978

Robert Motherwell

The wave, 1974–1978

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite V, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentenniel Suite V, 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976–1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976–1976

Sale Date: October 21, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: October 21, 1997

Auction Closed

Chair, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1971–1972

Sale Date: September 23, 1997

Auction Closed

Paris review

Robert Motherwell

Paris review

Sale Date: September 20, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: July 31, 1997

Auction Closed

The blinding of the Cyclop, 1987

Robert Motherwell

The blinding of the Cyclop, 1987

Sale Date: June 26, 1997

Auction Closed

Tricolor

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor

Sale Date: June 26, 1997

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: June 23, 1997

Auction Closed

In celebration, 1975

Robert Motherwell

In celebration, 1975

Sale Date: June 20, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: June 14, 1997

Auction Closed

Euclid's sand, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Euclid's sand, 1975

Sale Date: June 2, 1997

Auction Closed

Black on black, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Black on black, 1978

Sale Date: May 31, 1997

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel, pl.II, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel, pl.II, 1989

Sale Date: May 31, 1997

Auction Closed

Basque suite: Black, green and orange, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Basque suite: Black, green and orange, 1970–1971

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Untitled (Atheneum collage), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Atheneum collage), 1964

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

The Basque suite: Untitled, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque suite: Untitled, 1970–1971

Sale Date: May 17, 1997

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #2, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #2, 1973

Sale Date: May 17, 1997

Auction Closed

English (US)

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