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 light series: Pauillac #2, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer light series: Pauillac #2, 1973

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Bastos, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Bastos, 1975

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Wanderers, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Wanderers, 1985

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Down dog, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Down dog, 1989

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

America-la France variations IV, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America-la France variations IV, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Burning sun, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

Burning sun, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989

Sale Date: November 5, 1995

Auction Closed

Scripturale Komposition, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Scripturale Komposition, 1975

Sale Date: November 3, 1995

Auction Closed

Mexican elegy, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Mexican elegy, 1987

Sale Date: October 29, 1995

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Harvest, with orange stripe, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with orange stripe, 1973

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Black sun, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

Black sun, 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell: Paintings and Collages..., 1971

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Rite of passage I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of passage I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Pauillac #3, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac #3, 1973

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Music

Robert Motherwell

Music

Sale Date: October 14, 1995

Auction Closed

The basque suite: untitled, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

The basque suite: untitled, 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 12, 1995

Auction Closed

Gauloises bleues (yellow with black square), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises bleues (yellow with black square), 1971

Sale Date: October 12, 1995

Auction Closed

St. Michael III, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael III, 1975–1979

Sale Date: October 12, 1995

Auction Closed

English (US)

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