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 (B. 314), 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

AUSTRALIAN STONE (B. 314), 1983–1984

Sale Date: May 11, 1991

Auction Closed

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS V(B. 301; T...., 1984

Robert Motherwell

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS V(B. 301; T...., 1984

Sale Date: May 11, 1991

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987

Sale Date: May 11, 1991

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: May 2, 1991

Auction Closed

PAS DE DEUX #3, 1975

Robert Motherwell

PAS DE DEUX #3, 1975

Sale Date: May 1, 1991

Auction Closed

UNTITLED - OPEN SERIES, 1969

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED - OPEN SERIES, 1969

Sale Date: May 1, 1991

Auction Closed

STUDY FOR THE BIG A, 1987

Robert Motherwell

STUDY FOR THE BIG A, 1987

Sale Date: May 1, 1991

Auction Closed

ELEGY FOR SPANISH REPUBLIC,125, 1972

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY FOR SPANISH REPUBLIC,125, 1972

Sale Date: April 30, 1991

Auction Closed

LA CASE DE LA MANCHA 1984, 1984

Robert Motherwell

LA CASE DE LA MANCHA 1984, 1984

Sale Date: April 26, 1991

Auction Closed

THE STONENESS OF THE STONE, 1974

Robert Motherwell

THE STONENESS OF THE STONE, 1974

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

GAULOISES BLEUES (WHITE), 1970

Robert Motherwell

GAULOISES BLEUES (WHITE), 1970

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC #4, 1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC #4, 1973

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

BLACKENED SUN, 1983

Robert Motherwell

BLACKENED SUN, 1983

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL: UNTITLED, 1966

Robert Motherwell

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL: UNTITLED, 1966

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

GAULOISES BLEUES (YELLOW WITH BLACK SQUARE), 1971

Robert Motherwell

GAULOISES BLEUES (YELLOW WITH BLACK SQUARE), 1971

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

SOOT-BLACK STONE #1, 1975

Robert Motherwell

SOOT-BLACK STONE #1, 1975

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

SIRENS I, 1988

Robert Motherwell

SIRENS I, 1988

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

SIRENS II, 1988

Robert Motherwell

SIRENS II, 1988

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

THE POET'S EYE, 1989–1990

Robert Motherwell

THE POET'S EYE, 1989–1990

Sale Date: April 24, 1991

Auction Closed

AMERICA LA FRANCE VARIATIONS IV

Robert Motherwell

AMERICA LA FRANCE VARIATIONS IV

Sale Date: April 18, 1991

Auction Closed

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRECE (6)

Robert Motherwell

BEAU GESTE POUR LUCRECE (6)

Sale Date: April 17, 1991

Auction Closed

OHNE TITEL, 33/225

Robert Motherwell

OHNE TITEL, 33/225

Sale Date: March 16, 1991

Auction Closed

LE COQ, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

LE COQ, 1975–1975

Sale Date: February 22, 1991

Auction Closed

THE BASQUE SUITE (BELKNAP 59), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

THE BASQUE SUITE (BELKNAP 59), 1970–1971

Sale Date: February 22, 1991

Auction Closed

English (US)

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