Sacrificial Moment
1945
Painter, American, born Russia (now Latvia), 1903 - 1970
Mark Rothko
East Building Tower Level, Gallery 615-A
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 98 x 70.5 cm (38 9/16 x 27 3/4 in.)
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Accession Number
1986.43.74
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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
1947
Fifty-Eighth Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture: Abstract and Surrealist American Art, Art Institute of Chicago, 1947, no. 198.
1990
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 1990-1991.
1991
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn, New York, 1991.
1992
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, 1992.
1993
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, March-May 1993.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Payne Gallery, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January-February 1993.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Salina Art Center, Kansas, August-October 1993.
1994
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Ball State University Museum of Art, Muncie, Indiana, April-May 1994.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, New York, February-March 1994.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, Wisconsin, June-July 1994.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Marsh Gallery, University of Richmond, Virginia, August-September 1994.
1995
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), San Diego Museum of Art, March-May 1995.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, January-February 1995.
1996
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Lore Degenstein Gallery, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, September-October 1996.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Palm Springs Desert Museum, California, 1996-1997.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), The Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, January-March 1996.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, June-August 1996.
1997
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California, June-September 1997.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, January-March 1997.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Midland Center for the Arts, Michigan, September-November 1997.
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, April-June 1997.
1998
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, 1998.
2000
Mark Rothko and the Lure of the Figure: Paintings 1933-1946, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, 2000-2001, no. 14, repro.
2002
The Tiger's Eye: the Art of a Magazine, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2002, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
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. 18, repro.
Bibliography
1948
The Tiger's Eye 3 (15 March 1948): repro. 102.
1968
Rubin, William S. Dada and Surrealist Art. New York, 1968: repro. 448.
1983
Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Rev. ed. of 1955 Ph.D. dissertation. Cambridge, Massacusetts, and London, 1983: no. 213.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 307, repro.
1998
Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 278, repro.
Inscriptions
lower left: MARK ROTHKO
Wikidata ID
Q20193669