Sold|$6,000
Black Flag
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Signature: Signed "RM" in pencil lower right; signed "Motherwell" (reversed) in plate upper left
Etching
Sold|$15,000
Red Sea I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching and aquatint on Arches Cover
Etching, Aquatint
Untitled (Phoenician Red) (M76-9)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original signed monotype in etching inks on handmade Hayle Mill paper by American artist Robert
Handmade Paper, Etching, Monotype
Sold|$4,000
Grey Open
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made
Etching
Sold|$5,900
Oy/ Yo
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made
Etching, Aquatint
French revolution Bicentennial Suite V
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
42.9 x 51.1 cms (16.9 x 20.1 ins) Edition of 35 Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint
Aquatint, Color, Etching
Sold|$19,800
Gesture III
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Brushed aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on J.B. Green paper 88.9 x 66.7 cms (35 x 26.3
Etching, Aquatint
Stephen's Iron Crown Etched
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on German Etching paper Edition of 66 64.1 x 71.8 cms
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$9,000
Put out All Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A superb impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching on German Etching paper. Signed
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$27,500
The Red Queen
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint and collage Edition of 40 78.7 x 63.5 cms (31 x 25 ins)
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$9,000
Window
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
54.3 x 63.5 cms (21.38 x 25 ins) Edition of 30 Etching and carborundum Paper: Whatman paper
Color, Etching
Sold|$8,800
Untitled
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
29.88 x 22.36 ins (75.9 x 56.8 cms) Edition of 96 Signature:Signed "R. Motherwell" in pencil
Aquatint, Color, Etching
Sold|$20,000
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint and soft-ground etching on Georges Duchene Hawthorne of Larroque handmade paper 47 x 90.5
Aquatint, Color, Etching
Sold|$16,000
Riverrun
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on German Etching paper 47 x 68.6 cms (18 1/2 x 27 ins
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$17,000
Riverrun
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on German Etching paper 47 x 68.6 cms (18 1/2 x 27 ins
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$20,000
Red Sea II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
87.6 x 37.7 cms (34.5 x 29 ins) Edition of 100
Color, Etching
Sold|$15,000
Dance I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
19.5 x 30.5 ins (49.5 x 77.5 cms) Edition of 30
Color, Etching, Aquatint
The Razor's Edge
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
image: 40 x 50.2 cms (15 3/4 x 19 3/4 ins) paper: 59.7 x 67.9 cms (23 1/2 x 26 3/4 ins) Edition of 36
Aquatint, Color, Etching
Gray Open with White Paint
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
20.24 x 26.26 ins (51.4 x 66.7 cms) Edition of 79 Signature:Signed "RM" in pencil lower left Inscriptions:Numbered in pencil lower left; artist's chop mark lower right Publishe...
Color, Etching
Sold|$20,000
Untitled (#19)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Untitled (#19) 1976 Etching ink on paper 64.8 x 49.5 cms (25 1/2 x 19 1/2 ins
Monotype
Robert Motherwell Etching and Aquatint, Running Elegy ii, Blue State, 1983
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Stamford, CT
Color etching and aquatint, 1983, on Hawthorne of Larrouque handmade paper, signed and numbered 1
Paper
Untitled, Minimalist Abstract Etching by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Long Island City, NY
Untitled Robert Motherwell, American (1915–1991) Date: 1973 Lift-Ground Etching with Aquatint on
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$9,500
Dance I Etching by Robert Motherwell, 1978
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This rare lift-ground etching and aquatint is part of the "Dance" series of three prints by Robert
Paper
1979 After Robert Motherwell 'Dance I'
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
poster for Robert Motherwell: Prints 1977-1979 held at Brooke Alexander, Inc. May-June 1979. Etching on
Etching
Sold|$3,800
Robert Motherwell 'Oy / Yo' Signed, Limited Edition Abstract Print
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Rafael, CA
Robert Motherwell (American, 1915-1991) Oy / Yo, 1978 Aquatint, soft ground etching in colors with
Etching
Sold|$4,500
Robert Motherwell 'Stephen's Iron Crown Etched' Signed, Limited Edition Print
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Rafael, CA
Robert Motherwell (American, 1915-1991) Stephen's Iron Crown Etched, 1981-1982 Lift-ground etching
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$7,500
Spoleto Festival Italy mixed media etching & screenprint pencil signed 71/150
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Spoleto Festival, 1968 Silkscreen on American Etching Paper Signed and numbered
Etching, Screen, Mixed Media, Pencil
Sold|$3,800
Dance II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Chatsworth, CA
This piece is an original lift-ground etching and aquatint by Robert Motherwell, created in 1978
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$300
Dance I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Exhibition poster for Robert Motherwell: Prints 1977-1979 held at Brooke Alexander, Inc. May-June
Etching
Sold|$5,440
Untitled, 1975
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Austin, TX
Artist: Robert Motherwell Title: Untitled, 1975 Medium: Etching and aquatint in colors, on Rives
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$1,800
The Paris Review
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
in 1991. Robert Motherwell had deep ties to the city of Paris. He first travelled to Paris at the
Etching, Lithograph
Sold|$3,500
Primal Sign II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A classic example of Robert Motherwell's abstract and simplistic style, this scarce print is richly
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$22,000
Gesture IV
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lift-ground etching with aquatint in colors on JB Green paper 88.9 x 66.6 cms (35 x 26 1/4 ins
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$4,000
Calligraphic Study IV
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lift-ground etching and aquatint on HMP handmade paper Edition of 30 57.7 x 45.7 cms (22-3/4 x 18
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$6,500
Primal Sign VI (Moss)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color aquatint and lift-ground etching on Arches cover paper
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$27,500
At the Edge
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on Auvergne a la Main Richard de Bas handmade paper
Mixed Media, Color, Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$15,400
Dance I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
19.5 x 30.5 ins (49.5 x 77.5 cms) Edition of 30
Aquatint, Color, Etching
"Untitled (Orange Abstract)"
Located in New Orleans, LA
Robert Motherwell and etchings for Salvador Dali. During the next decade, Beardsall focused more and
Paper, Monoprint
At the Edge
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell At the Edge, 1984 Aquatint and lift-ground etching printed in colors 22.75h x
Etching
Running Elegy II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Description Etching and aquatint printed in yellow and black, 1983, an artist's proof aside from
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$7,500
Untitled
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Untitled, 1975 Aquatint and etching on Rives BFK paper 25 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (65.4
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$12,000
Untitled (#19)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Untiteld (#19), 1976 Etching ink on paper 25 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm
Ink, Etching
Sold|$24,000
Red Sea III
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Red Sea III is a 1983 aquatint and etching by Robert Motherwell. Red Sea is III is from an edition
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$7,900
Black Sea
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original lift-ground etching and aquatint printed in black ink on cream Stonehenge wove paper
Etching
Sold|$16,000
Red Open with White Line
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Red Open with White Line, 1979 Aquatint from one copper plate printed in red
Etching, Aquatint
Elegy Fragment II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original lift-ground etching and aquatint printed in two colors (light salmon, black) on Georges
Etching, Aquatint
Sold|$5,500
Hades
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original etching printed in two colors on Johannot wove paper. Hand-signed with the artist’s
Etching
Sold|$5,500
Cyclops
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original etching printed in two colors on Johannot wove paper. Hand-signed with the artist’s
Etching
Sold|$5,500
Scylla and Charybdis
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original etching printed in two colors on Johannot wove paper. Hand-signed with the artist’s
Etching
Beige Open
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Soft-ground etching 19 7/8 x 26 1/4 inches Edition of 80 Initialed and numbered MOTX278A
Etching
Sold|$3,500
Primal Sign II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Primal Sign II, 1979-1980 Etching, aquatint 23 x 10’’ Edition of 45
Etching, Aquatint
Elegy Fragment II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Motherwell Elegy Fragment II 1985 Etching and aquatint 34 ½ x 24 inches Edition of 52
Los Angeles Sun (State II)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
Robert Motherwell Los Angeles Sun (State II), 1980 Lift-ground etching and aquatint on J.B. Green
Etching
Sold|$3,950
Trieste-Zurich-Paris
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original etching printed in black ink on Johannot wove paper. Hand-signed with the artist’s
Etching
Sold|$5,500
Music
By Robert Motherwell
Located in San Francisco, CA
Original etching printed in two colors on Johannot wove paper. Hand-signed with the artist’s
Etching
The name of painter, printmaker and writer Robert Motherwell (1915–91) is often taken as synonymous with the New York School, whose name he coined. Motherwell was the youngest of this group of Abstract Expressionists working in art, dance, poetry and music in 1950s and '60s New York City, which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Helen Frankenthaler and Mark Rothko.
Born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1915, Motherwell had perhaps the broadest and best education of any of the New York School coterie, with an extensive background in philosophy, literature and art history. He earned a BA in philosophy in 1937 from Stanford University and was working toward a PhD in the subject at Harvard when he interrupted his studies for a yearlong trip to Europe, where he fell in love with European modernism.
After returning, in 1940 he enrolled Columbia to study art history. It was there that he met a group of exiled Parisian Surrealists, and encounter that proved influential on his style. Motherwell began to integrate the idea of “automatism” — unmediated gestures that reflect deeper psychological impulses — into his work, pioneering a new form of Abstract Expressionism that came to characterize the New York School.
Works like the 1967 Beside the Sea no. 45, an acrylic on canvas, and the 1966 lithograph New York International epitomize Motherwell’s use of simple shapes in boldly contrasting colors, executed in quick, gestural strokes that occasionally evoke figures, suggesting a latent narrative despite their obvious abstraction.
Throughout his career, Motherwell taught painting at Hunter College, in New York, and at Black Mountain College, in North Carolina, where his work influenced the likes of Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg and Kenneth Noland. His influence as one of the founding fathers of American Abstract Expressionism remains profound.
Decorating with fine art prints — whether they’re figurative prints, abstract prints or another variety — has always been a practical way of bringing a space to life as well as bringing works by an artist you love into your home.
Pursued in the 1960s and ’70s, largely by Pop artists drawn to its associations with mass production, advertising, packaging and seriality, as well as those challenging the primacy of the Abstract Expressionist brushstroke, printmaking was embraced in the 1980s by painters and conceptual artists ranging from David Salle and Elizabeth Murray to Adrian Piper and Sherrie Levine.
Printmaking is the transfer of an image from one surface to another. An artist takes a material like stone, metal, wood or wax, carves, incises, draws or otherwise marks it with an image, inks or paints it and then transfers the image to a piece of paper or other material.
Fine art prints are frequently confused with their more commercial counterparts. After all, our closest connection to the printed image is through mass-produced newspapers, magazines and books, and many people don’t realize that even though prints are editions, they start with an original image created by an artist with the intent of reproducing it in a small batch. Fine art prints are created in strictly limited editions — 20 or 30 or maybe 50 — and are always based on an image created specifically to be made into an edition.
Many people think of revered Dutch artist Rembrandt as a painter but may not know that he was a printmaker as well. His prints have been preserved in time along with the work of other celebrated printmakers such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol. These fine art prints are still highly sought after by collectors.
“It’s another tool in the artist’s toolbox, just like painting or sculpture or anything else that an artist uses in the service of mark making or expressing him- or herself,” says International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) vice president Betsy Senior, of New York’s Betsy Senior Fine Art, Inc.
Because artist’s editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, they’re more accessible and can be a great opportunity to bring a variety of colors, textures and shapes into a space.
For tight corners, select small fine art prints as opposed to the oversized bold piece you’ll hang as a focal point in the dining area. But be careful not to choose something that is too big for your space. And feel free to lean into it if need be — not every work needs picture-hanging hooks. Leaning a larger fine art print against the wall behind a bookcase can add a stylish installation-type dynamic to your living room. (Read more about how to arrange wall art here.)
Find fine art prints for sale on 1stDibs today.