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)
Untitled, from X by X Artists, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from X by X Artists, 1964

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Black for Mozart, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black for Mozart, 1991

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Elegy Black Black, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Black Black, 1983

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Mexico City Personages I and II, from..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City Personages I and II, from..., 1988

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Wonderers, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Wonderers, 1985

Sale Date: October 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: September 20, 2023

Auction Closed

Saint Michael III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Saint Michael III, 1979

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Robert Motherwell

Lament for Lorca, 1982

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: September 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Abstract

Robert Motherwell

Abstract

Sale Date: September 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Three Poems: Red Wind, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems: Red Wind, 1988

Sale Date: September 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Lyric Suite, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite, 1965

Sale Date: September 27, 2023

Auction Closed

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (Beautiful Gesture..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau geste pour Lucrèce (Beautiful Gesture..., 1989

Sale Date: September 22, 2023

Auction Closed

Music for J.S. Bach (E. & B. 471), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Music for J.S. Bach (E. & B. 471), 1989

Sale Date: September 22, 2023

Auction Closed

Summer Light Series: Pauillac, #4, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: Pauillac, #4, 1973

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970 (from Flight Portfolio;..., 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970 (from Flight Portfolio;..., 1970

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Summer Light Series: Harvest, with Blue Shadow, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: Harvest, with Blue Shadow, 1973

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the Basque Suite), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from the Basque Suite), 1971

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Mezzotint in Crimson, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Mezzotint in Crimson, 1969

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

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