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)
Summer Light Series: The Highlands, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: The Highlands, 1973

Sale Date: September 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Beau Geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Beau Geste, 1989

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

St. Michel III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michel III, 1979

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915 - 1991) AFRICA SUITE NO. 2

Robert Motherwell

ROBERT MOTHERWELL (1915 - 1991) AFRICA SUITE NO. 2

Sale Date: September 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Africa Suite #7, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite #7, 1970

Sale Date: September 8, 2022

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite: one plate (E. & B. 79, B...., 1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite: one plate (E. & B. 79, B...., 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Africa Suite: five plates (E. & B. 70-71;..., 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite: five plates (E. & B. 70-71;..., 1970

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite: six plates (E. & B...., 1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite: six plates (E. & B...., 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle II (Olive) (E. & B. 188), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle II (Olive) (E. & B. 188), 1975

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Africa Suite: Africa 2 (E. & B. 70, B. 41), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite: Africa 2 (E. & B. 70, B. 41), 1970

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Orange/Pink), from London Series..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Orange/Pink), from London Series..., 1971

Sale Date: September 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Beau Geste, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Beau Geste, 1989

Sale Date: August 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Calligraphic Study III, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphic Study III, 1976

Sale Date: August 24, 2022

Auction Closed

The Green Studio, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Green Studio, 1985

Sale Date: August 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, Plate 8, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, Plate 8, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Sale Date: August 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Through Black Emerge Purified (from the El..., 1983

Robert Motherwell

Through Black Emerge Purified (from the El..., 1983

Sale Date: August 18, 2022

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973, 1973

Sale Date: August 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Africa 2 (from the Africa Suite), 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 2 (from the Africa Suite), 1970

Sale Date: August 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: August 10, 2022

Auction Closed

New York, New York - Cultural Institutions, 1983

Robert Motherwell

New York, New York - Cultural Institutions, 1983

Sale Date: August 10, 2022

Auction Closed

The Paris Review, 1965

Robert Motherwell

The Paris Review, 1965

Sale Date: July 20, 2022

Auction Closed

I.H. Series No. 26, 1970

Robert Motherwell

I.H. Series No. 26, 1970

Sale Date: July 20, 2022

Auction Closed

Automatism A (Walker Art Center 6), 1966

Robert Motherwell

Automatism A (Walker Art Center 6), 1966

Sale Date: July 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Lyric Suite No. 9, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite No. 9, 1965

Sale Date: July 19, 2022

Auction Closed

English (US)

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