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)
Chair, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Chair, 1972

Sale Date: April 7, 2022

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1983

Sale Date: April 19, 2022

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VIII, 1983–1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VIII, 1983–1984

Sale Date: April 19, 2022

Auction Closed

OHNE TITEL

Attributed to Robert Motherwell

OHNE TITEL

Sale Date: April 1, 2022

Auction Closed

Beau Geste Pour Lucrèce, planche 1, 1989, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste Pour Lucrèce, planche 1, 1989, 1989

Sale Date: March 26, 2022

Auction Closed

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro (from For..., 1973–1974

Robert Motherwell

Tallith for Meyer Shapiro (from For..., 1973–1974

Sale Date: March 23, 2022

Auction Closed

AMERICA - LA FRANCE VARIATIONS III, 1984..., 1984

Robert Motherwell

AMERICA - LA FRANCE VARIATIONS III, 1984..., 1984

Sale Date: March 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: March 30, 2022

Auction Closed

American, 1984

Robert Motherwell

American, 1984

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

The Berggruen Series, 1980

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen Series, 1980

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations III, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations III, 1984

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Autumn

Robert Motherwell

Autumn" (fromParis Suite III), 1980

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (fromThe Basque Suite

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (fromThe Basque Suite"), 1971

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Perpetual Summer, 1986

Sale Date: March 25, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Nude), 1983

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Nude), 1983

Sale Date: March 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1987

Sale Date: March 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Composition

Robert Motherwell

Composition

Sale Date: March 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 84), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 84), 1971

Sale Date: March 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 82), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 82), 1971

Sale Date: March 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 80), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 80), 1971

Sale Date: March 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 79), 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Engberg & Banach 79), 1971

Sale Date: March 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Sin título, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Sin título, 1975

Sale Date: March 10, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled {Monster (Black and White), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled {Monster (Black and White), 1975

Sale Date: March 11, 2022

Auction Closed

America, La France Variations IV (T. 446, E. , 1984

Robert Motherwell

America, La France Variations IV (T. 446, E. , 1984

Sale Date: March 11, 2022

Auction Closed

English (US)

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