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)
In White with Green Stripe, 1987

Robert Motherwell

In White with Green Stripe, 1987

Sale Date: October 13, 2018

Auction Closed

Africa Suite: Africa 5, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa Suite: Africa 5, 1970

Sale Date: October 25, 2018

Auction Closed

Delos, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Delos, 1991

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1978

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Black on Black, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Black on Black, 1978

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Red Sea II, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Sea II, 1979

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Dance I, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Dance I, 1979

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture III, 1976–1977

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Roth-Händle II (Brown), 1975

Robert Motherwell

Roth-Händle II (Brown), 1975

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Summertime in Italy (Blue), 1965–1966

Robert Motherwell

Summertime in Italy (Blue), 1965–1966

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Pauillac, #4, from Summer Lights Series, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Pauillac, #4, from Summer Lights Series, 1973

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Harvest, with Blue Shadow, from Summer Light , 1973

Robert Motherwell

Harvest, with Blue Shadow, from Summer Light , 1973

Sale Date: October 22, 2018

Auction Closed

Poet I, 1962

Robert Motherwell

Poet I, 1962

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Open on Two Whites, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Open on Two Whites, 1973

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Beau Geste VIII, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Beau Geste VIII, 1989

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Robert Motherwell

Red Open with White Line, 1979

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Wave, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Wave, 1989

Sale Date: October 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Dance I, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Dance I, 1978

Sale Date: October 23, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Paroles Peintes III, 1967, 1967

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Paroles Peintes III, 1967, 1967

Sale Date: October 6, 2018

Auction Closed

MEXICO CITY PERSONAGES III (FROM OCTAVIO PAZ , 1987

Robert Motherwell

MEXICO CITY PERSONAGES III (FROM OCTAVIO PAZ , 1987

Sale Date: October 4, 2018

Auction Closed

GAULOISES BLEUES (WHITE), 1970

Robert Motherwell

GAULOISES BLEUES (WHITE), 1970

Sale Date: October 4, 2018

Auction Closed

ULYSSES, 1988

Robert Motherwell

ULYSSES, 1988

Sale Date: September 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1964

Sale Date: September 27, 2018

Auction Closed

English (US)

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