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.
America - La France Variations IX - Modern, Expressionism, Collage, Lithograph
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Köln, DE
Collage and lithograph in colours "America - La France Variantions IX" by Robert Motherwell from 1983-1984. The edition on handmade paper comprises 78 copies. The present copy is...
Mixed Media, Handmade Paper, Lithograph
Lament for Lorca
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph on white Tyler Graphics Ltd. (TGL) handmade paper 44x61 in (111.8x154.9cm) Edition of 52
Color, Lithograph
El General
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting...
Handmade Paper, Lithograph
The Basque Suite #6
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on J. B. Green paper. Initialed and numbered 96/150 in pencil by Motherwell. Printed by Kelpra Studio, London. Published by Marlborou...
Color, Screen
Original Robert Motherwell Etching, Signed, Trieste from Ulysses 1988
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Robert Motherwell Title: Trieste - Zurich - Paris Medium: Etching on Johannot paper Date: 1988 Edition: 27/40 Sheet Size: 13" x 10" Image Size: 6" x 6" Signature: Initialed (...
Lithograph
The Basque Suite #2
By Robert Motherwell
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on J. B. Green paper. Initialed and numbered 134/150 in pencil by Motherwell. Printed by Kelpra Studio, London. Published by Marlboro...
Color, Screen
Glass Garden
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
Created in 1984 on handmade paper, “Glass Garden” was signed in pencil, numbered 50/59, and published by Motherwell with his blind stamp in New York City. Robert Motherwell, the youn...
Etching, Aquatint
In White with Green Stripe
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Rober Motherwell In White with Green Stripe 1987 Lithograph, relief print, embossing and collage 86.4 x 61 cms (34 x 24 ins)
Lithograph
Paris Suite (Autumn)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) is one of the essential American abstract painters that radically defined post-war abstraction in New York City. Today, his work appears in museum collections around the world and is instantly recognizable for its boldness and black forms. His auction record was set in 2018 at $12.6 million USD. In addition to his impressive paintings, Motherwell is also revered as one of the most innovative and prolific printmakers of the 20th century. He was always searching for new techniques, whether at his own printmaking atelier, or collaborating with others, to expand his ideas and express his aesthetic. Created in 1980, "Paris Suite...
Lithograph
Mediterranean, State I
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined abstraction and...
Lithograph, Screen
Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival - 25th Anniversary
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Aramits, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Robert Motherwell, American (1915 - 1991) Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, 25th Anniversary. Lithograph, Edition of 800, unsigned and unnumber...
Lithograph, Screen
España II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Espana II 1983 Aquatint and lift-ground etching on Moulin du Gue Rives de Lin paper Edition of 40 31.8 x 26.7 cms (12.5 x 10.5 ins) RME9319
Etching, Aquatint
Octavio Paz Suite: Red Samurai
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph, linoleum block print, and chine appliqué, Edition of 50 CR 435 Paper:Arches paper; Japanese Masa Dosa handmade paper Production Sequence:4 colors (including 1 colored pap...
Lithograph
Norway
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
54.9 x 56.5 cms (21.6 x 22.25 ins) Edition of 50 Paper: Somerset paper Signature:Signed "RM" in pencil lower right Inscriptions:Numbered in pencil lower right Proofs:20 AP, number...
Color, Lithograph
Ulysses: The Hospital
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined abstraction and...
Etching
$16,800Sale Price|20% Off
Perpetual Summer
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
60 x 42.9 cms ( 23.62 x 16.89 ins) Edition of 26 Signature:Signed "Motherwell" in pencil lower right Inscriptions:Numbered in pencil lower right; artist's chop mark lower right Publ...
Color, Etching, Aquatint
Stoneness of Stone
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell The Stoneness of the Stone Edition 75 1974 Lithograph on light gray Twinrocker handmade paper laminated to medium gray Twinrocker handmade paper 104.1 x 76.2 cms (4...
Lithograph
Basque Suite #12
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting in Ameri...
Screen
Game of Chance
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
88.3 x 69.9 cms (34.7 x 27.51 ins) Edition of 100
Mixed Media, Color, Aquatint, Lithograph
Paris Suite 4 (Winter)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Paris Suite IV (Winter) 1980 Lithograph on J.B. Green handmade paper, Edition of 60 47 x 45.7 cms (18.5 x 18 ins) RM17036 CR 267 18 1/2 ...
Lithograph
Monster
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph on speckled gray HMP handmade paper 104.1 x 78.7 cms (41 x 31 ins) Edition of 26
Lithograph
Lyric Suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Ink on rice paper 27.9 x 22.9 cms (11 x 9 ins)
Ink
The Basque Suite: Untitled
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Edition of 150 104.1 x 71.7 cms (41 x 28 1/4 ins)
Screen
Samurai II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
144.8 x 62.2 cms (57 x 24.5 ins) Edition of 49 Lithograph and chine appliqué Paper:Two joined sheets of natural Nepal handmade paper; natural Sekishu handmade paper Proofs: 1 archiv...
Color, Lithograph
$5,764
Sirens II - 20th Century, Robert Motherwell, Figurative, Print, Expressionist
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Köln, DE
An aquatint etching out of 1988 in a very good condition and bright colours. 57 x 66 cm. Edition of 90, signed and numbered.
Aquatint
Lyric Suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Ink on rice paper 27.9 x 22.9 cms (11 x 9 ins)
Ink
Africa Suite #6
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting in Ameri...
Screen
Africa Suite #10
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting in Ameri...
Screen
Norway
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
54.9 x 56.5 cms (21.6 x 22.25 ins) Edition of 50 Paper: Somerset paper Signature:Signed "RM" in pencil lower right Inscriptions:Numbered in pencil lower right Proofs:20 AP, numbered I/XX-XX/XX, 2 HC, numbered I-II, 3 PP, 1 TP, other proofs (unrecorded) Publisher:Derriere LEtoile Studios, New York, for the Sonja Henie...
Color, Lithograph
Seaside Studio
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined abstraction and...
Etching, Aquatint
Summer Light Series: Pauillac, No.2
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Summer Light Series: Pauillac, No.2 1973 Lithograph, screenprint, pochoir, and collage, Edition of 55 91.4 x 45.7 cms (36 x 18 ins) RM12795
Lithograph
The Poet's Eye
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell The Poet's Eye 1990 Aquatint and carborundum in black and blue, on J. Whatman paper, Edition of 35 Image size: 45.1 x 60.3 cms (17 3/4 x 23 3/4 ins) Sheet size: 64....
Aquatint
The Persian II
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting...
Lithograph
$7,500Sale Price|25% Off
Africa Suite: Africa 9
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
The original studies from the 'Africa Suite' were a group of ten works selected from a series of ink-on-paper drawings from the same year. The large autom...
Screen
$8,000
Poet II - Lithograph, Abstract Print, 20th Century by Robert Motherwell
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Edition of 35 75.6 x 53.7 cms (29.76 x 21.14 ins)
Lithograph
Octavio Paz Suite: Nocturne VIII
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph and chine appliqué to Arches paper. Siri Engberg and Joan Banach 'Robert Motherwell: The Complete Prints 1940-1991. Catalogue Raisonne', Walker Art Center and Hudson Hills...
Lithograph
Lyric Suite
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Brown ink with orange bleed on rice paper 22.9 x 27.9 cms (9 x 11 ins)
Ink
Put out all Flags
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on German Etching paper 53.3 x 73.7 cms (21 x 29 ins) Edition of 50
Etching, Aquatint
Octavio Paz Suite: Nocturne VIII
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph and chine appliqué 64.5 x 54 cms (25 3/8 x 21 1/4 ins) Edition of 50 Paper: Arches paper; Japanese Gampi handmade paper Other Collaborators: Image transferred from Mylar...
Handmade Paper, Color, Lithograph
Gesture I (State I)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Aquatint, lift-ground etching and aquatint on J.B. Green paper 89.5 x 66.7 cms (35 1/4 x 26 1/4 ins) Edition of 75
Color, Lithograph
Africa Suite: Africa 10
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
The original studies from the 'Africa Suite' were a group of ten works selected from a series of ink-on-paper drawings from the same year. The large autom...
Screen
Lyric Suite (Brown No. 4)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Ink on rice paper 27.9 x 22.9 cms (11 x 9 ins)
Ink
Roth-Handle
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
CR 168 Paper:Auvergne à la Main Richard de Bas handmade paper; offset-printed Roth Händle cigarette label Signature:Signed "RM" in pencil upper right Inscriptions:Numbered in pencil ...
Aquatint
Summertime in Italy (with Lines)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Lithograph on Rives BFK paper 61.6 x 43.18 cms (24 1/4 x 17 inches) Edition of 100
Lithograph
Paris Suite 2 (Summer)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Paris Suite II (Summer) 1980 Lithograph on J.B. Green handmade paper, Edition of 60 49.2 x 41 cms (19 1/2 x 16 ins) RM17034 CR 265 Sign...
Lithograph
Paris Suite 3 (Autumn)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Paris Suite III (Autumn) 1980 Lithograph on J.B. Green handmade paper, Edition of 60 49.2 x 56.8 cms (19 1/2 x 22 1/2 ins) RM17035 CR 26...
Lithograph
Harvest With Blue Bottom, from Summer Light Series
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Miami, FL
TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Robert Motherwell Harvest With Blue Bottom, from Summer Light Series 1973 Lithograph with collage 36 x 18 in. Edition of 55 Pencil signed and numbered; accomp...
Lithograph, Mixed Media
$12,000Sale Price|20% Off
Frontispiece from" A la Pintura"
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A print by Robert Motherwell. "Frontispiece from 'A la Pintura'" is an aquatint executed in blue and brown and depicts the writing A la Pintura below a small blue rectangle by Post War artist Robert Motherwell. Signed lower right, in ink, "Robert Motherwell 1972...
Aquatint
America La-France Variations IX
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), alongside Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, made up the quartet of American abstract painters that radically defined Modern painting...
Lithograph
$7,500Sale Price|25% Off
Africa Suite: Africa 7
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
The original studies from the 'Africa Suite' were a group of ten works selected from a series of ink-on-paper drawings from the same year. The large autom...
Screen
Price Upon Request
America La-France Variations IX
By Robert Motherwell
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Created in 1984, this lithograph and collage on paper is hand-signed by Robert Motherwell (Aberdeen, 1915 - Provincetown, 1991) in pencil in the lower right margin. Numbered from the...
Mixed Media, Lithograph
Price Upon Request
Elegy Sketch
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Elegy Sketch 1980-ca. 1984 Acrylic on canvas board 15 x 29.5 cms (5 7/8 x 11 5/8 ins) RM-P80-2500 P1008 An early version of this work was photographed in 1980 (Sloman photo no. 1217). Studio photographs show that Motherwell modified the black forms and added the white lines sometime around 1984, without changing the overall composition. Exhibited: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Robert Motherwell, 1984, no. 106. Manny Silverman Gallery...
Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Black Open
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Black Open 1973 Acrylic on canvas 182.9 x 91.4 cms (72 x 36 ins) RM9611 P735 Motherwell's fascination with black started when he was wo...
Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Open No. 45: In Blue with Brown
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) Open No. 45: In Blue with Brown 1969 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 55.9 x 71.1 cms (22 x 28 ins) RM9741 P447 Exhibited: Art Galleries, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, Exhibition of Work by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Awards, 1970, no. 55. Galerie Templon, Paris, Robert Motherwell Open...
Charcoal, Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Alberti Suite No. 8
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Alberti Suite No. 8 1970 Acrylic on canvas 101.6 x 75.6 cms (40 x 29 3/4 ins) RM9811 P526 One of the several variants Motherwell painted within the Open series. I...
Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Dr. Zhivago's Country Study
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Dr. Zhivago's Country Study 1975 Acrylic on canvas board 14 x 45.7 cms (5 1/2 x 18 ins) RM9816 P853 Recto, upper left: Motherwell \ 75 Verso: "Dr Zhivago's Country...
Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Open in Yellow, Black and Blue)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Untitled (Open in Yellow, Black and Blue) 1970 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas board 25.4 x 61 cms (10 x 24 ins) RM9819 P588 Signed lower right (recto) Artist's studio number P74-290 Provenance: Dedalus Foundation, New York...
Charcoal, Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Red Open)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Untitled (Red Open) ca. 1970 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas board 17.8 x 22.8 cms (7 x 9 ins) RM9923 P575 Artist's studio number P71-286 Signed (verso) Provenance...
Charcoal, Acrylic
Price Upon Request
Untitled (Ochre Open)
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) Untitled (Ochre Open) 1972 Acrylic on Upson board 60.6 x 24.5 cms (23 7/8 x 9 5/8 ins) RM9997 P666 Recto, upper right: RM \ 72 Verso not signed, not da...
Acrylic, Board
Price Upon Request
Shem the Penman #18
By Robert Motherwell
Located in London, GB
Robert Motherwell Shem the Penman #18 1983 Acrylic and charcoal on canvas 25.4 x 35.5 cms (10 x 13 3/4 ins) RM10044 P1068 Signed upper left and on reverse. Provenance: Dedalus Foun...
Charcoal, Acrylic