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)
Aus der Serie: Basque Suite, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Aus der Serie: Basque Suite, 1972

Sale Date: June 28, 2019

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: July 24, 2019

Auction Closed

Hermitage

Robert Motherwell

Hermitage

Sale Date: July 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, from 'The Basque Suite', 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from 'The Basque Suite', 1971

Sale Date: July 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Africa 9, from 'Africa Suite', 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 9, from 'Africa Suite', 1970

Sale Date: July 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (Seated Nude), 1957

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Seated Nude), 1957

Sale Date: July 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Red Wall Sketch, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Red Wall Sketch, 1976

Sale Date: July 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1951

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1951

Sale Date: July 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #2, from Summer Light Series, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #2, from Summer Light Series, 1973

Sale Date: July 16, 2019

Auction Closed

May Linen Suite #3, 1990

Robert Motherwell

May Linen Suite #3, 1990

Sale Date: July 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Palo Alto, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Palo Alto, 1978

Sale Date: July 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, from London Series I, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from London Series I, 1971

Sale Date: July 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, from London Series I, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from London Series I, 1971

Sale Date: July 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Brushstroke (untitled), 1972

Robert Motherwell

Brushstroke (untitled), 1972

Sale Date: June 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Norway, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1980

Sale Date: June 13, 2019

Auction Closed

Blue Gesture (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Blue Gesture (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Sale Date: June 18, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled 1987, (from Three Poems by Octavio..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Untitled 1987, (from Three Poems by Octavio..., 1987

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Three Poems / Octavio Paz

Robert Motherwell

Three Poems / Octavio Paz

Sale Date: June 9, 2019

Auction Closed

robert motherwell five circles, 1972

Robert Motherwell

robert motherwell five circles, 1972

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Mexican Night II, 1984

Robert Motherwell

Mexican Night II, 1984

Sale Date: June 13, 2019

Auction Closed

PINK NUDE WITH BLUE STRIPE, 1976

Robert Motherwell

PINK NUDE WITH BLUE STRIPE, 1976

Sale Date: June 4, 2019

Auction Closed

St. Michel III, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michel III, 1979

Sale Date: May 21, 2019

Auction Closed

In White with Green Stripe, 1987

Robert Motherwell

In White with Green Stripe, 1987

Sale Date: May 22, 2019

Auction Closed

To the Paintbrush, from A la Pintura, 1968–1972

Robert Motherwell

To the Paintbrush, from A la Pintura, 1968–1972

Sale Date: May 22, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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