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 BLACK BLACK, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY BLACK BLACK, 1982–1983

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

BLACK MOUNTAIN STATE I, 1980–1983

Robert Motherwell

BLACK MOUNTAIN STATE I, 1980–1983

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

LONDON SERIES I: BLUE, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

LONDON SERIES I: BLUE, 1970–1971

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

OCTAVIO PAZ SUITE: MEXICAN ELEGY, 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

OCTAVIO PAZ SUITE: MEXICAN ELEGY, 1987–1988

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

SIRENS II, 1988

Robert Motherwell

SIRENS II, 1988

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

SIRENS I, 1988

Robert Motherwell

SIRENS I, 1988

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

THREE FORMS, 1988

Robert Motherwell

THREE FORMS, 1988

Sale Date: March 23, 1994

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite no. V

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite no. V

Sale Date: March 15, 1994

Auction Closed

Senza titolo, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Senza titolo, 1971

Sale Date: March 15, 1994

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite..., 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite..., 1987–1988

Sale Date: March 15, 1994

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite..., 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite..., 1987–1988

Sale Date: March 15, 1994

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite no. II

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite no. II

Sale Date: March 15, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: March 14, 1994

Auction Closed

Roth Handle, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth Handle, 1974–1975

Sale Date: March 14, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: February 23, 1994

Auction Closed

The Black Wall, 1980–1981

Robert Motherwell

The Black Wall, 1980–1981

Sale Date: February 16, 1994

Auction Closed

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Brushstroke, 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Paris Suite I-IV (Spring, Summer,..., 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Paris Suite I-IV (Spring, Summer,..., 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Beau Geste III, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste III, 1989

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Rite of Passage II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

Rite of Passage II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations I, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations I, 1983–1984

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Harvest, with two white Stripes, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with two white Stripes, 1973

Sale Date: February 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Hermitage

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage

Sale Date: January 21, 1994

Auction Closed

English (US)

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