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)
Lyric Suite, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite, 1965

Sale Date: March 9, 2021

Auction Closed

Lyric Suite, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Lyric Suite, 1965

Sale Date: March 9, 2021

Auction Closed

Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, 25th Anniversary, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart, 25th Anniversary, 1991

Sale Date: March 6, 2021

Auction Closed

Tricolor 137, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor 137, 1973

Sale Date: March 6, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Galeria Joan Prats, 1976-86, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Galeria Joan Prats, 1976-86, 1986

Sale Date: March 10, 2021

Auction Closed

Black with No Way Out, from El Negro, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with No Way Out, from El Negro, 1983

Sale Date: March 10, 2021

Auction Closed

BLACKENED SUN, 1984

Robert Motherwell

BLACKENED SUN, 1984

Sale Date: February 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Large Robert Motherwell Screenprint

Robert Motherwell

Large Robert Motherwell Screenprint

Sale Date: February 18, 2021

Auction Closed

Basque Suite C, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Basque Suite C, 1973

Sale Date: February 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Tan and Blue), from London Series..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Tan and Blue), from London Series..., 1971

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Pink and Orange), from London..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Pink and Orange), from London..., 1971

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Blue and White), from London..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Blue and White), from London..., 1971

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Blue and Tan), from London Series..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Blue and Tan), from London Series..., 1971

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (Black and Yellow), from London..., 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Black and Yellow), from London..., 1971

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled (B.107; E & B.136), 1973, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (B.107; E & B.136), 1973, 1973

Sale Date: February 22, 2021

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial II, 1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial II, 1988

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Tricolor, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Tricolor, 1973

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Hermitage, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage, 1975

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Five Circles, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Five Circles, 1972

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Composition XXV from the Octavio Paz, Three..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Composition XXV from the Octavio Paz, Three..., 1987

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Delta, 1981–1982

Robert Motherwell

Delta, 1981–1982

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1968

Sale Date: February 17, 2021

Auction Closed

THE DALTON PRINT (BELKNAP 208), 1979

Robert Motherwell

THE DALTON PRINT (BELKNAP 208), 1979

Sale Date: December 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled from the Madrid Suite, 1965-1966, 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled from the Madrid Suite, 1965-1966, 1965–1966

Sale Date: December 15, 2020

Auction Closed

English (US)

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