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)
The Berggruen series, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen series, 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 22, 1991

Auction Closed

FIVE CIRCLES

Robert Motherwell

FIVE CIRCLES

Sale Date: February 21, 1991

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1959–1959

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1959–1959

Sale Date: February 14, 1991

Auction Closed

MURAL SKETCH, 1967–1967

Robert Motherwell

MURAL SKETCH, 1967–1967

Sale Date: February 14, 1991

Auction Closed

PRIMAL SIGN IV

Robert Motherwell

PRIMAL SIGN IV

Sale Date: February 10, 1991

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (BELKNAP 38), 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (BELKNAP 38), 1970–1970

Sale Date: January 31, 1991

Auction Closed

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL NO. 4,..., 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL NO. 4,..., 1988–1988

Sale Date: December 16, 1990

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964–1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964–1964

Sale Date: December 10, 1990

Auction Closed

ST. MARKS (T. 240), 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

ST. MARKS (T. 240), 1979–1980

Sale Date: December 7, 1990

Auction Closed

NORWAY, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

NORWAY, 1979–1980

Sale Date: December 7, 1990

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964–1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964–1964

Sale Date: December 6, 1990

Auction Closed

ROTH-HANDLE II (BELKNAP 153), 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

ROTH-HANDLE II (BELKNAP 153), 1975–1975

Sale Date: December 1, 1990

Auction Closed

SOOT BLACK STONE NR. 1, 1975, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

SOOT BLACK STONE NR. 1, 1975, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 27, 1990

Auction Closed

Komposition, 1972–1972

Robert Motherwell

Komposition, 1972–1972

Sale Date: November 24, 1990

Auction Closed

THE RED QUEEN, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

THE RED QUEEN, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

BASTOS, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

BASTOS, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

GESTURE IV, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

GESTURE IV, 1976–1977

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

REDNESS OF RED, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

REDNESS OF RED, 1985–1985

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

MEXICAN NIGHT II, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

MEXICAN NIGHT II, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

Komposition

Robert Motherwell

Komposition

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

HERMITAGE, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

HERMITAGE, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

AUTOMATISM A, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

AUTOMATISM A, 1965–1966

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

PALO ALTO, 1973–1976

Robert Motherwell

PALO ALTO, 1973–1976

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

English (US)

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