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)
Africa suite, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

PARIS SUITE II, 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

PARIS SUITE II, 1979–1980

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa suite, 1970–1970

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC,#3, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC,#3, 1973–1973

Sale Date: April 3, 1990

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967–1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1967–1967

Sale Date: February 27, 1990

Auction Closed

IN BEIGE WITH CHARCOAL#1, 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

IN BEIGE WITH CHARCOAL#1, 1973–1973

Sale Date: February 27, 1990

Auction Closed

ULTRAMARINE WITH GAULOISE, 1972–1972

Robert Motherwell

ULTRAMARINE WITH GAULOISE, 1972–1972

Sale Date: February 27, 1990

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, FROM THE BASQUE SUITE (B.56), 1970–1971

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED, FROM THE BASQUE SUITE (B.56), 1970–1971

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

OY/YO (B.196), 1978–1978

Robert Motherwell

OY/YO (B.196), 1978–1978

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958–1958

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1958–1958

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC,#2 (B. 120), 1973–1973

Robert Motherwell

SUMMER LIGHT SERIES: PAUILLAC,#2 (B. 120), 1973–1973

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

FLESH AUTOMATISM, 1985–1985

Robert Motherwell

FLESH AUTOMATISM, 1985–1985

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

SUMMERTIME IN ITALY, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

SUMMERTIME IN ITALY, 1965–1966

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

ELEGY BLACK BLACK, FOR EL NEGRO, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY BLACK BLACK, FOR EL NEGRO, 1982–1983

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

MEDITERRANEAN (STATE II YELLOW(B. 148;..., 1975–1975

Robert Motherwell

MEDITERRANEAN (STATE II YELLOW(B. 148;..., 1975–1975

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

UNTITLED, FROM THE BERGGRUEN SERIES (B. , 1979–1980

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED, FROM THE BERGGRUEN SERIES (B. , 1979–1980

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

THE ROCK, 1958–1958

Robert Motherwell

THE ROCK, 1958–1958

Sale Date: February 23, 1990

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1965–1965

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1965–1965

Sale Date: February 21, 1990

Auction Closed

LAMENT FOR LORCA, 1982–1982

Robert Motherwell

LAMENT FOR LORCA, 1982–1982

Sale Date: February 17, 1990

Auction Closed

BASTOS, 1974–1975

Robert Motherwell

BASTOS, 1974–1975

Sale Date: February 17, 1990

Auction Closed

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Robert Motherwell

GAME OF CHANCE, 1987–1987

Sale Date: February 17, 1990

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.