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)
Gesture IV (State I), 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture IV (State I), 1977

Sale Date: April 20, 2018

Auction Closed

Redness of Red, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Redness of Red, 1985

Sale Date: April 20, 2018

Auction Closed

España, 1983

Robert Motherwell

España, 1983

Sale Date: April 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Black Cathedral, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Black Cathedral, 1991

Sale Date: April 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Elegy Study I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Elegy Study I, 1989

Sale Date: April 18, 2018

Auction Closed

AT THE EDGE, 1964

Robert Motherwell

AT THE EDGE, 1964

Sale Date: March 27, 2018

Auction Closed

The Green Studio, 1985

Robert Motherwell

The Green Studio, 1985

Sale Date: March 17, 2018

Auction Closed

Summer Light Series: Pauillac #2, 1973

Robert Motherwell

Summer Light Series: Pauillac #2, 1973

Sale Date: March 17, 2018

Auction Closed

BURNT SIENNA

Robert Motherwell

BURNT SIENNA

Sale Date: March 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Mirror I, 1989

Robert Motherwell

Mirror I, 1989

Sale Date: March 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Redness of Red, 1985

Robert Motherwell

Redness of Red, 1985

Sale Date: March 28, 2018

Auction Closed

CHAIR 1972

Robert Motherwell

CHAIR 1972

Sale Date: March 17, 2018

Auction Closed

OHNE TITEL (AUS: NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL) 1966

Robert Motherwell

OHNE TITEL (AUS: NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL) 1966

Sale Date: March 17, 2018

Auction Closed

MEDITERRANEAN (STATE II YELLOW), 1975

Robert Motherwell

MEDITERRANEAN (STATE II YELLOW), 1975

Sale Date: March 3, 2018

Auction Closed

A View No. 3, 1958

Robert Motherwell

A View No. 3, 1958

Sale Date: March 1, 2018

Auction Closed

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Robert Motherwell

Tobacco Roth-Händle, 1975

Sale Date: February 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Gesture II, 1977

Robert Motherwell

Gesture II, 1977

Sale Date: February 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled (Belknap 5), 1964

Robert Motherwell

Untitled (Belknap 5), 1964

Sale Date: February 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Mexican Elegy (+ Untitled; 2 works from..., 1987

Robert Motherwell

Mexican Elegy (+ Untitled; 2 works from..., 1987

Sale Date: January 31, 2018

Auction Closed

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Robert Motherwell

America - La France Variations VII, 1984

Sale Date: January 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Madrid Suite F

Robert Motherwell

Madrid Suite F

Sale Date: January 27, 2018

Auction Closed

Burning Elegy, 1991

Robert Motherwell

Burning Elegy, 1991

Sale Date: January 13, 2018

Auction Closed

St. Michael II, 1975

Robert Motherwell

St. Michael II, 1975

Sale Date: December 19, 2017

Auction Closed

Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Robert Motherwell

Black Sun (from Octavio Paz Suite), 1987

Sale Date: December 19, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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