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)
Untitled, 1974

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1974

Sale Date: September 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Tapestry Study No. 5, 1972

Robert Motherwell

Tapestry Study No. 5, 1972

Sale Date: September 27, 2018

Auction Closed

IN PLATO'S CAVE NO. 7, 1973

Robert Motherwell

IN PLATO'S CAVE NO. 7, 1973

Sale Date: September 25, 2018

Auction Closed

COMPOSITION, 1957

Robert Motherwell

COMPOSITION, 1957

Sale Date: September 25, 2018

Auction Closed

ELEGY TO THE SPANISH REPUBLIC NO. 169, 1987

Robert Motherwell

ELEGY TO THE SPANISH REPUBLIC NO. 169, 1987

Sale Date: September 25, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled Composition (State I), 1978, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Untitled Composition (State I), 1978, 1978

Sale Date: October 2, 2018

Auction Closed

A group of five works from London Series II, , 1971

Robert Motherwell

A group of five works from London Series II, , 1971

Sale Date: October 2, 2018

Auction Closed

Juilliard School - Lincoln Center, 1969

Robert Motherwell

Juilliard School - Lincoln Center, 1969

Sale Date: September 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Burnt Sienna (After Robert Motherwell), 1976

After Robert Motherwell

Burnt Sienna (After Robert Motherwell), 1976

Sale Date: September 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Norway, 1980

Robert Motherwell

Norway, 1980

Sale Date: September 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Africa 3 (from the Africa Suite)

Robert Motherwell

Africa 3 (from the Africa Suite)

Sale Date: September 29, 2018

Auction Closed

Yellow Flight, 1986

Robert Motherwell

Yellow Flight, 1986

Sale Date: August 21, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1987

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, 1987

Sale Date: August 25, 2018

Auction Closed

Black on Black, 1978

Robert Motherwell

Black on Black, 1978

Sale Date: August 23, 2018

Auction Closed

The Quarrel, 1983

Robert Motherwell

The Quarrel, 1983

Sale Date: August 11, 2018

Auction Closed

Spoleto Festival, 1968

Robert Motherwell

Spoleto Festival, 1968

Sale Date: August 23, 2018

Auction Closed

Exhibition: Paintings and Collages at Sidney , 1957

Robert Motherwell

Exhibition: Paintings and Collages at Sidney , 1957

Sale Date: August 23, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled

Robert Motherwell

Untitled

Sale Date: August 2, 2018

Auction Closed

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite III and , 1988

Robert Motherwell

French Revolution Bicentennial Suite III and , 1988

Sale Date: July 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Alberti Elegy (Walker Art Center 288), 1982

Robert Motherwell

Alberti Elegy (Walker Art Center 288), 1982

Sale Date: July 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Flags (Walker Art Center 470), 1989

Robert Motherwell

Flags (Walker Art Center 470), 1989

Sale Date: July 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, from Peace Portfolio I, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Untitled, from Peace Portfolio I, 1970

Sale Date: July 26, 2018

Auction Closed

St. Marks, 1980

Robert Motherwell

St. Marks, 1980

Sale Date: July 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Africa 3, from Africa Suite, 1970

Robert Motherwell

Africa 3, from Africa Suite, 1970

Sale Date: July 17, 2018

Auction Closed

English (US)

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