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)
RED SEA I, 1976–1976

Robert Motherwell

RED SEA I, 1976–1976

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

RED SEA III, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

RED SEA III, 1982–1983

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIALSUITE, 1988–1988

Robert Motherwell

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIALSUITE, 1988–1988

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

Alberti elegy, 1981–1981

Robert Motherwell

Alberti elegy, 1981–1981

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

PUT OUT ALL FLAGS, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

PUT OUT ALL FLAGS, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

BLACK MOUNTAIN, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

BLACK MOUNTAIN, 1982–1983

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

DANCE III, 1978–1978

Robert Motherwell

DANCE III, 1978–1978

Sale Date: November 20, 1990

Auction Closed

RITE OF PASSAGE III, 1980–1980

Robert Motherwell

RITE OF PASSAGE III, 1980–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

A LA PINTURA, 1968–1972

Robert Motherwell

A LA PINTURA, 1968–1972

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

ST. MICHAEL II, 1975–1979

Robert Motherwell

ST. MICHAEL II, 1975–1979

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

The Persian II, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

The Persian II, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

LOS ANGELES SUN, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

LOS ANGELES SUN, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

St. Marks, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

St. Marks, 1979–1980

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: HARVEST WITH BLUE..., 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: HARVEST WITH BLUE..., 1973–1973

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

AUSTRALIA, 1983–1983

Robert Motherwell

AUSTRALIA, 1983–1983

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

AUSTRALIAN STONE, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

AUSTRALIAN STONE, 1983–1984

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS IV, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS IV, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

MUSIC FOR J.S. BACH, 1989–1989

Robert Motherwell

MUSIC FOR J.S. BACH, 1989–1989

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

HERMITAGE, 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

HERMITAGE, 1975–1975

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS VI, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

AMERICA-LA FRANCE VARIATIONS VI, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIALSUITE: NO , 1987–1988

Robert Motherwell

FRENCH REVOLUTION BICENTENNIALSUITE: NO , 1987–1988

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

DUTCH LINEN SUITE

Robert Motherwell

DUTCH LINEN SUITE

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

MEXICAN NIGHT II, 1984–1984

Robert Motherwell

MEXICAN NIGHT II, 1984–1984

Sale Date: November 17, 1990

Auction Closed

English (US)

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