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)
Elegy scetch, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Elegy scetch, 1977

Sale Date: December 2, 1996

Auction Closed

James Joyce's Ulysses

Robert Motherwell

James Joyce's Ulysses

Sale Date: November 27, 1996

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 1949–1950

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 1949–1950

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Swiss collage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Swiss collage, 1975

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Basque suite #50

Robert Motherwell

Basque suite #50

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Euclid's sand, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Euclid's sand, 1975

Sale Date: November 20, 1996

Auction Closed

Beside the sea, #36, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea, #36, 1962

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Beside the sea, #18, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea, #18, 1962

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Beside the sea, #1, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the sea, #1, 1962

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Open study no.9, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open study no.9, 1968

Sale Date: November 20, 1996

Auction Closed

Open #47, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open #47, 1968

Sale Date: November 20, 1996

Auction Closed

Two figures with cerulean blue stripe, 1960

Robert Motherwell

Two figures with cerulean blue stripe, 1960

Sale Date: November 21, 1996

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965

Sale Date: November 19, 1996

Auction Closed

Abstract

Robert Motherwell

Abstract

Sale Date: November 15, 1996

Auction Closed

Bird I, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Bird I, 1973

Sale Date: November 14, 1996

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973

Sale Date: November 14, 1996

Auction Closed

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Art 1981 Chicago print, 1981

Sale Date: November 13, 1996

Auction Closed

London series I, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

London series I, 1970–1971

Sale Date: November 13, 1996

Auction Closed

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

Red Sea I, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea I, 1976

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

America-la France variations V, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-la France variations V, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 9, 1996

Auction Closed

English (US)

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