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)
Mediterranean, State I White (E./B. 178; B...., 1975

Robert Motherwell

Mediterranean, State I White (E./B. 178; B...., 1975

Sale Date: July 17, 2020

Auction Closed

Paris Review (E./B. 7; B. A9), 1965, 1965

Robert Motherwell

Paris Review (E./B. 7; B. A9), 1965, 1965

Sale Date: July 17, 2020

Auction Closed

Dance III, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance III, 1978

Sale Date: July 28, 2020

Auction Closed

New York International: Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

New York International: Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: July 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Hommage à Picasso: Window, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Hommage à Picasso: Window, 1973

Sale Date: July 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1973

Sale Date: July 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Ulysses portfolio; and book, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Ulysses portfolio; and book, 1988

Sale Date: July 23, 2020

Auction Closed

Soot-Black Stone 4, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Soot-Black Stone 4, 1973

Sale Date: July 21, 2020

Auction Closed

Africa 5, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 5, 1970

Sale Date: July 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Spoletto Festival Poster, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoletto Festival Poster, 1968

Sale Date: July 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Red Samurai, Octavio Paz Suite

Robert Motherwell

Red Samurai, Octavio Paz Suite

Sale Date: July 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Two White Stripes, from the..., 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Two White Stripes, from the..., 1973

Sale Date: July 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Blue Shadow, from Summer Light , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Blue Shadow, from Summer Light , 1973

Sale Date: July 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1984

Sale Date: July 2, 2020

Auction Closed

Three Forms, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Three Forms, 1988

Sale Date: July 4, 2020

Auction Closed

LIBERTE TOUTE ENTIERE #6 - 1965, 1965

Robert Motherwell

LIBERTE TOUTE ENTIERE #6 - 1965, 1965

Sale Date: July 9, 2020

Auction Closed

CRYSTAL AND EARTH YELLOW, 1946

Robert Motherwell

CRYSTAL AND EARTH YELLOW, 1946

Sale Date: June 30, 2020

Auction Closed

Octavio Paz: three plates, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Octavio Paz: three plates, 1988

Sale Date: June 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: June 24, 2020

Auction Closed

The Paris Review, 1965

Robert Motherwell

The Paris Review, 1965

Sale Date: June 26, 2020

Auction Closed

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Gypsy Curse, 1983

Sale Date: June 26, 2020

Auction Closed

The Highlands, from the Summer Light Series, 1973

Robert Motherwell

The Highlands, from the Summer Light Series, 1973

Sale Date: June 26, 2020

Auction Closed

SPANISH ELEGY, 1959

Robert Motherwell

SPANISH ELEGY, 1959

Sale Date: June 29, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1966

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1966

Sale Date: June 26, 2020

Auction Closed

English (US)

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