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, 1970–1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970–1972

Sale Date: October 25, 1994

Auction Closed

Harvest, with orange stripe, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with orange stripe, 1973

Sale Date: October 25, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971–1972

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1971–1972

Sale Date: October 14, 1994

Auction Closed

Oy/Yo

Robert Motherwell

Oy/Yo

Sale Date: October 10, 1994

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (B. 377), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (B. 377), 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (Belknap 51), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (Belknap 51), 1970–1971

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

THE STREETS (B. 395), 1985–1988

Robert Motherwell

THE STREETS (B. 395), 1985–1988

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND (B.243), 1980–1981

Robert Motherwell

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND (B.243), 1980–1981

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

ST. MICHAEL III (B. 206; T. 398:RM 17), 1979

Robert Motherwell

ST. MICHAEL III (B. 206; T. 398:RM 17), 1979

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

BLACK SUN (B. 213; T.401:RM20), 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

BLACK SUN (B. 213; T.401:RM20), 1987–1988

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

IN CELEBRATION (B. App.27), 1975

Robert Motherwell

IN CELEBRATION (B. App.27), 1975

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

HERMITAGE, 1975

Robert Motherwell

HERMITAGE, 1975

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

SIRENS II (B.383), 1988

Robert Motherwell

SIRENS II (B.383), 1988

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

ROTH-HANDLE II (B. 153), 1975

Robert Motherwell

ROTH-HANDLE II (B. 153), 1975

Sale Date: October 5, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: October 2, 1994

Auction Closed

Mediterranean, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean, 1975

Sale Date: September 20, 1994

Auction Closed

ONE SCREENPRINT FROM THE

Robert Motherwell

ONE SCREENPRINT FROM THE "AFRICA SUITE", 1970

Sale Date: September 17, 1994

Auction Closed

Spanish elegy, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Spanish elegy, 1987

Sale Date: September 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro, 1973

Sale Date: June 27, 1994

Auction Closed

Beside the Sea, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Beside the Sea, 1962

Sale Date: June 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Etude de Femme, 1957

Robert Motherwell

Etude de Femme, 1957

Sale Date: June 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Etude de Feuillage, 1960

Robert Motherwell

Etude de Feuillage, 1960

Sale Date: June 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Spanish Elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Robert Motherwell

Spanish Elegy: La Carolina, 1950

Sale Date: June 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Automatism B, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism B, 1966

Sale Date: June 15, 1994

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.