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)
Untitled, Plate 8, from The Basque Suite..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, Plate 8, from The Basque Suite..., 1971

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Beau Geste I; III (2 works) (Engberg &..., 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste I; III (2 works) (Engberg &..., 1989

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Green), from London Series I..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Green), from London Series I..., 1971

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Red), from London Series I..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Red), from London Series I..., 1971

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Black), from London Series I..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Black), from London Series I..., 1971

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle (Engberg & Banach 168), 1975, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle (Engberg & Banach 168), 1975, 1975

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VIII (Engberg , 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VIII (Engberg , 1984

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: May 28, 2021

Auction Closed

New York, New York - Cultural Institutions, 1983

Robert Motherwell

New York, New York - Cultural Institutions, 1983

Sale Date: May 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Gauloises on Grey #26, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Gauloises on Grey #26, 1972

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (from Ten Works by Ten Painters), 1964

Sale Date: May 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Basque Suite

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Basque Suite

Sale Date: May 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1975

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (State II)

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (State II)

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

The 40's, 1977

Robert Motherwell

The 40's, 1977

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

The Basque Suite: one print, 1971

Robert Motherwell

The Basque Suite: one print, 1971

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

”Gesture I”

Robert Motherwell

”Gesture I”

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Robert Motherwell Lithograph, Signed Edition, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Robert Motherwell Lithograph, Signed Edition, 1978

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Open Study No. 22, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open Study No. 22, 1968

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Naples Yellow Open, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Naples Yellow Open, 1984

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

The Green Studio, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Green Studio, 1985

Sale Date: May 19, 2021

Auction Closed

The Blue Wall, 1977

Robert Motherwell

The Blue Wall, 1977

Sale Date: May 18, 2021

Auction Closed

Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 79, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 79, 1962

Sale Date: May 12, 2021

Auction Closed

Open Study No. 9, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Open Study No. 9, 1968

Sale Date: May 14, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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