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)
Cyclops, from Ulysses, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Cyclops, from Ulysses, 1988

Sale Date: May 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Sale Date: May 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Basque suite, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Basque suite, 1971

Sale Date: May 8, 2019

Auction Closed

ULYSSES, 1988

Robert Motherwell

ULYSSES, 1988

Sale Date: March 15, 2019

Auction Closed

BLACK SOUNDS (WALKER ART CENTER 338), 1984

Robert Motherwell

BLACK SOUNDS (WALKER ART CENTER 338), 1984

Sale Date: March 15, 2019

Auction Closed

The Berggruen Series

Robert Motherwell

The Berggruen Series

Sale Date: April 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Trial proof for London Series Ⅰ: Untitled, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Trial proof for London Series Ⅰ: Untitled, 1971

Sale Date: April 27, 2019

Auction Closed

Calligraphic Study II, 1976

Robert Motherwell

Calligraphic Study II, 1976

Sale Date: April 25, 2019

Auction Closed

Barcelona Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Barcelona Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 1991

Sale Date: April 25, 2019

Auction Closed

The Paris Review, 1991

Robert Motherwell

The Paris Review, 1991

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations V, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations V, 1984

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

St. Michael II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II, 1979

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (state I), 1977–1984

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (state I), 1977–1984

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

Abyss, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Abyss, 1978

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: April 23, 2019

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (FROM THE BASQUE SUITE, PLATE 8), 1971

Robert Motherwell

UNTITLED (FROM THE BASQUE SUITE, PLATE 8), 1971

Sale Date: April 11, 2019

Auction Closed

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea III, 1982–1983

Sale Date: April 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Delos, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Delos, 1991

Sale Date: April 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Robert Motherwell

Red Samurai, from Octavio Paz Suite, 1988

Sale Date: April 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Black with No Way Out, 1983

Robert Motherwell

Black with No Way Out, 1983

Sale Date: April 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from The Basque Suite, 1971

Sale Date: April 16, 2019

Auction Closed

AUSTRALIAN STONE (B.314), 1984

Robert Motherwell

AUSTRALIAN STONE (B.314), 1984

Sale Date: March 23, 2019

Auction Closed

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce, 1989

Sale Date: March 27, 2019

Auction Closed

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste pour Lucrèce, 1989

Sale Date: March 27, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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