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)
AUSTRALIAN STONE (BELKNAP 314), 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

AUSTRALIAN STONE (BELKNAP 314), 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 2, 1991

Auction Closed

PERSIAN II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

PERSIAN II, 1984

Sale Date: October 26, 1991

Auction Closed

MADRID-SUITE

Robert Motherwell

MADRID-SUITE

Sale Date: October 25, 1991

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1972–1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1972–1973

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

IN WHITE WITH GREEN STRIPE, 1987

Robert Motherwell

IN WHITE WITH GREEN STRIPE, 1987

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

PARIS SUITE II (SPRING) & PARIS SUITE..., 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

PARIS SUITE II (SPRING) & PARIS SUITE..., 1979–1980

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: THE HIGHLANDS, 1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: THE HIGHLANDS, 1973

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

GAULOISES BLEUES (YELLOW WITH BLACK SQUARE), 1971

Robert Motherwell

GAULOISES BLEUES (YELLOW WITH BLACK SQUARE), 1971

Sale Date: October 24, 1991

Auction Closed

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, 1982

Robert Motherwell

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, 1982

Sale Date: October 21, 1991

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, FROM PEACE PORTFOLIO, 1970

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED, FROM PEACE PORTFOLIO, 1970

Sale Date: October 20, 1991

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: October 18, 1991

Auction Closed

LA CASA DE LA MANCHA, 1984

Robert Motherwell

LA CASA DE LA MANCHA, 1984

Sale Date: October 18, 1991

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: October 17, 1991

Auction Closed

Flags, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags, 1989

Sale Date: October 9, 1991

Auction Closed

DANCE III (RED), 1978

Robert Motherwell

DANCE III (RED), 1978

Sale Date: October 9, 1991

Auction Closed

OPEN SERIES #48, 1970

Robert Motherwell

OPEN SERIES #48, 1970

Sale Date: October 3, 1991

Auction Closed

IN PLATO'S CAVE #VII, 1973

Robert Motherwell

IN PLATO'S CAVE #VII, 1973

Sale Date: October 3, 1991

Auction Closed

PAUILLAC TRIAL PROOF ILL, 1973

Robert Motherwell

PAUILLAC TRIAL PROOF ILL, 1973

Sale Date: August 25, 1991

Auction Closed

PRIMAL SIGN IV

Robert Motherwell

PRIMAL SIGN IV

Sale Date: July 4, 1991

Auction Closed

ST. MARKS (B. 240), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

ST. MARKS (B. 240), 1979–1980

Sale Date: June 27, 1991

Auction Closed

LA CASA DE LA MANCHA, 1984

Robert Motherwell

LA CASA DE LA MANCHA, 1984

Sale Date: June 27, 1991

Auction Closed

SAMURAI II (B. 213), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

SAMURAI II (B. 213), 1979–1980

Sale Date: June 27, 1991

Auction Closed

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRECE

Robert Motherwell

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRECE

Sale Date: June 26, 1991

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987

Sale Date: June 26, 1991

Auction Closed

English (US)

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