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, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: March 13, 1993

Auction Closed

Study for Iberia, 1959

Robert Motherwell

Study for Iberia, 1959

Sale Date: February 24, 1993

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: HARVEST, WITH TWO WHITE , 1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: HARVEST, WITH TWO WHITE , 1973

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

WEST ISLIP, 1965–1970

Robert Motherwell

WEST ISLIP, 1965–1970

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND, 1980–1981

Robert Motherwell

BLACK GESTURE ON COPPER GROUND, 1980–1981

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

LONDON SERIES II: UNTITLED, 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

LONDON SERIES II: UNTITLED, 1970–1971

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

THREE FORMS, 1988

Robert Motherwell

THREE FORMS, 1988

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

MONSTER, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

MONSTER, 1974–1975

Sale Date: February 12, 1993

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (FROM TEN WORKS + TEN PAINTERS), 1964

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (FROM TEN WORKS + TEN PAINTERS), 1964

Sale Date: December 12, 1992

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel

Robert Motherwell

Ohne Titel

Sale Date: December 12, 1992

Auction Closed

SOOT BLACK STONE, NO. 2, 1973

Robert Motherwell

SOOT BLACK STONE, NO. 2, 1973

Sale Date: December 8, 1992

Auction Closed

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS [MED: FARBIG, UND..., 1983

Robert Motherwell

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS [MED: FARBIG, UND..., 1983

Sale Date: December 1, 1992

Auction Closed

Calligraphy, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphy, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Summertime, Italy, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Summertime, Italy, 1971

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Roth-Handle

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Handle

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: November 30, 1992

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1976

Sale Date: November 23, 1992

Auction Closed

SOOT-BLACK STONE #5, 1973

Robert Motherwell

SOOT-BLACK STONE #5, 1973

Sale Date: November 20, 1992

Auction Closed

SOOT-BLACK STONE #4, 1973

Robert Motherwell

SOOT-BLACK STONE #4, 1973

Sale Date: November 20, 1992

Auction Closed

SUMMERTIME WITH BLUE, 1974

Robert Motherwell

SUMMERTIME WITH BLUE, 1974

Sale Date: November 19, 1992

Auction Closed

English (US)

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