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)
Automatic Image No. 6, 1963

Robert Motherwell

Automatic Image No. 6, 1963

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Drunk with Turpentine No. 10, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Drunk with Turpentine No. 10, 1979

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1967–1968

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1967–1968

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Open No. 147: Blue on Beige, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Open No. 147: Blue on Beige, 1970

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Study for State II “Elegy No. 100”, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Study for State II “Elegy No. 100”, 1970

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Black Open with Ochre, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Black Open with Ochre, 1971

Sale Date: October 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Window, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Window, 1991

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Elegy Sketch, State I, 1990

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Sketch, State I, 1990

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

The Cavern, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Cavern, 1989

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

The Red Queen, 1989

Robert Motherwell

The Red Queen, 1989

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Three Forms, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Forms, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Ulysses, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Sirens I, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Sirens I, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite: Mexico City Personages III, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite: Mexico City Personages III, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Mexico City Personages II, from Octavio Paz..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City Personages II, from Octavio Paz..., 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Mexico City Personages I, from Octavio Paz..., 1988

Robert Motherwell

Mexico City Personages I, from Octavio Paz..., 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Nocturne I, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Nocturne I, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Elegy Fragment II, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Fragment II, 1985

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Elegy Fragment I, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Fragment I, 1985

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations II, 1984

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Gray Open with White Paint, 1981

Robert Motherwell

Gray Open with White Paint, 1981

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Winter, from Paris Suite IV, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Winter, from Paris Suite IV, 1980

Sale Date: October 8, 2020

Auction Closed

English (US)

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