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)
MONUMENT FOR JACKSON POLLOCK, 1956

Robert Motherwell

MONUMENT FOR JACKSON POLLOCK, 1956

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

ROUGH OPEN, 1975

Robert Motherwell

ROUGH OPEN, 1975

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

MUSS ES SEIN? (MUST IT BE), #2, 1972

Robert Motherwell

MUSS ES SEIN? (MUST IT BE), #2, 1972

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

SUMMER SEASIDE NIGHT, 1974

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER SEASIDE NIGHT, 1974

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

WALL PAINTING SKETCH, 1973

Robert Motherwell

WALL PAINTING SKETCH, 1973

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1945

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1945

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

Two figures, 1958

Robert Motherwell

Two figures, 1958

Sale Date: November 14, 1991

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1959

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1959

Sale Date: November 13, 1991

Auction Closed

TIBOR DE NAGY COLLAGE (3 FEB 73), 1973

Robert Motherwell

TIBOR DE NAGY COLLAGE (3 FEB 73), 1973

Sale Date: November 13, 1991

Auction Closed

SPANISH ELEGY NO. 17, 1953

Robert Motherwell

SPANISH ELEGY NO. 17, 1953

Sale Date: November 13, 1991

Auction Closed

THE SCARLETT RING, 1963

Robert Motherwell

THE SCARLETT RING, 1963

Sale Date: November 13, 1991

Auction Closed

NO TITLE GIVEN, 1964

Robert Motherwell

NO TITLE GIVEN, 1964

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

THE POET'S EYE, 1989–1990

Robert Motherwell

THE POET'S EYE, 1989–1990

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

Africa suite (10), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite (10), 1970

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

RITE OF PASSAGE I, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

RITE OF PASSAGE I, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

WHITE 10-13 , 1972

Robert Motherwell

WHITE 10-13 , 1972

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

ROTH-HANDLE II, 1975

Robert Motherwell

ROTH-HANDLE II, 1975

Sale Date: November 4, 1991

Auction Closed

ST. MICHAEL II (BELKNAP 205; TYLER 397:RM16), 1979

Robert Motherwell

ST. MICHAEL II (BELKNAP 205; TYLER 397:RM16), 1979

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

REDNESS OF RED (BELKNAP 326; TYLER 458:RM77), 1985

Robert Motherwell

REDNESS OF RED (BELKNAP 326; TYLER 458:RM77), 1985

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

HERMITAGE (BELKNAP 149; TYLER 394:RM13), 1975

Robert Motherwell

HERMITAGE (BELKNAP 149; TYLER 394:RM13), 1975

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

GESTURE III (BELKNAP 171), 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

GESTURE III (BELKNAP 171), 1976–1977

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

MEXICAN NIGHT II (BELKNAP 318), 1984

Robert Motherwell

MEXICAN NIGHT II (BELKNAP 318), 1984

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

ELEGY BLACK BLACK (BELKNAP 274; TYLER..., 1983

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY BLACK BLACK (BELKNAP 274; TYLER..., 1983

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

RED SEA I (BELKNAP 158), 1976

Robert Motherwell

RED SEA I (BELKNAP 158), 1976

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

English (US)

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