Untitled

1948

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

Painter, American, born Russia (now Latvia), 1903 - 1970

The image contains bold and dynamic shapes and lines created with varying brushstroke intensities. It showcases an abstract composition with vibrant splashes of red, blue, and white blending with darker tones of brown and soft pinks. These colors and forms may hint at familiar objects, but remain open to interpretation due to their non-representational nature. Bright patches of color resemble fragmented reflections or scattered puzzle pieces, adding to the lively energy of the artwork.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 126.4 x 111.8 cm (49 3/4 x 44 in.)
    framed: 134.9 x 119.4 x 7.3 cm (53 1/8 x 47 x 2 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.4

  • Copyright

    Copyright © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1903-1970]; his estate; consigned 1970 to (Marlborough Gallery, Inc., New York); transferred 1977 back to the artist's estate;[1] transferred 1979 to The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., New York; gift 1986 to NGA.
[1] For a detailed discussion of the transactions surrounding the Rothko estate see Lee Seldes, Legacy of Mark Rothko, New York, 1978.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2001

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Roderick R. Paige, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C., 2001-2005.

2012

  • Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade, 1940-1950, Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; Denver Art Museum; The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, 2012-2014, no. 38, repro.

2014

  • Mark Rothko: Works from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague; Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center, South Korea, 2014-2015, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2015

  • Mark Rothko: A Retrospective, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2015-2016, no. 17, repro.

2018

  • Nymphéas: l'abstraction américaine et le dernier Monet [Water Lilies: American Abstraction and the Last Monet], Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 2018.

Bibliography

1989

  • Chave, Anna C. Mark Rothko: Subjects in Abstraction. New Haven, 1989: 72, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 314, repro.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 382, repro.

2015

  • Langley, Allison, and Suzanne Quillen Lomax. "Mark Rothko's Multiforms, 1946-1950: Transforming the Painted Surface." Facture 2 (2015): 111-137, figs. 8,12,14 (details), Table 1 no. 11.

  • Langley, Allison, and Suzanne Quillen Lomax. "Mark Rothko's Multiforms, 1946-1950: Transforming the Painted Surface." Facture: conservation, science, art history 2 (2015): 108-137, figs. 8, 12, 14 (details).

Inscriptions

upper right reverse: MARK ROTHKO / 1948

Wikidata ID

Q20194225

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