The Omen of the Eagle
1942
Painter, American, born Russia (now Latvia), 1903 - 1970

Artwork overview
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Medium
oil and graphite on canvas
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 65.4 × 45.1 cm (25 3/4 × 17 3/4 in.)
framed: 71.6 × 52.07 × 8.57 cm (28 3/16 × 20 1/2 × 3 3/8 in.) -
Accession
1986.43.107
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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
1943
New York Artists Painters: First Exhibition, 444 Madison Avenue, New York, 1943, checklist no. 38.
1944
Abstract and Surrealist Art in America, Mortimer Brandt Gallery, New York, 1944, no. 23.
Abstract and Surrealist Art in the United States, Cincinnati Art Museum; Denver Art Museum; Seattle Art Museum; Santa Barbara Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1944, no. 39.
1978
Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: A Retrospective, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1978, no. 26.
1979
The Modern Art Society: The Center's Early Years 1939-1954, The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, 1979, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
1987
Mark Rothko 1903-1970, The Tate Gallery, London; Fundación Juan March, Madrid; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 1987-1988, no. 9 (London catalogue), no. 8 (Cologne catalogue), repros. (shown only in London and Cologne).
1991
Painting a Place in America: Jewish Artists in New York, 1900-1945, organized by The Jewish Museum, shown at their temporary quarters at The New-York Historical Society, New York, 1991, no. 92.
1992
Images of World War II, Stephen F. Austin Gallery, Nacogdoches, Texas, 1992, unnumbered exhibition list.
1998
Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, 1998.
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. 8, 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. 8, repro.
Bibliography
1944
Janis, Sidney. Abstract and Surrealist Art in America. New York, 1944: 118, repro.
Riley, Maude. "Whither Goes Abstract and Surrealist Art?" Art Digest 19 (1944): 8, 31.
1983
Ashton, Dore. About Rothko. New York, 1983: 46, repro.
Sandler, Irving. Mark Rothko: Paintings 1948-1969. Exh. cat. The Pace Gallery, 1983: 7, repro.
Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Rev. ed. of 1955 Ph.D. dissertation. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, 1983: no. 197, repro.
1988
Kolberg, Gerhard. "Mark Rothko: Meditationsbilder." Kolner Museums-Bulletin 1 (1988): 25, repro.
Polcari, Steven. "Mark Rothko: Heritage, Environment, and Tradition." Smithsonian Studies in American Art 2, no. 2 (1988): 40, repro.
Mark Rothko: The Seagram Mural Project. Exh. cat. The Tate Gallery, London, 1988: 9, repro.
1989
Chave, Anna C. Mark Rothko: Subjects in Abstraction. New Haven, 1989: pl. 2.
Whiting, Cecile. Antifascism in American Art. New Haven and London, 1989: 181, repro.
1991
Painting a Place in America: Jewish Artists in New York 1900-1945; A Tribute to the Educational Alliance Art School. Ed. by Norman L. Kleeblatt and Susan Chevlowe. Exh. cat. The Jewish Museum, New York, 1991: 154, no. 92.
Glimcher, Marc. The Art of Mark Rothko: Into an Unknown World. New York, 1991: 84, repro.
Mitsui, Ko. To Contemporary Art: From Abstract Expressionism. Tokyo, 1991: 133, repro.
Polcari, Stephen. Abstract Expressionism and the Modern Experience. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1991: 60, repro.
Wheeler, Daniel. Art Since Mid-Century: 1945 to the Present. New York, 1991: 48, repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 293, repro.
Images of World War II. Exh. cat. Stephen F. Austin Gallery, Nacogdoches, Texas, 1992: unnumbered exhibition list.
1993
Barnes, Lucinda. "A Proclamation of Moment..." Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin 47, no. 1 (1993): 2-13.
Breslin, James E. Mark Rothko: A Biography. Chicago and London, 1993: no. 9, repro.
Zanetti, Paolo Serra. "Rothko o la tragedia di un solitario." Arte 23 (1993): 54, repro.
1995
Anfam, David, Sumi Hayashi, Nobuyuki Hiromoto, Naoko Seki. Mark Rothko. Exh. cat. Exhibition organized by the International Sculpture Center, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo Shimbun, with tour of 4 venues in Japan. 1995: 25, repro.
1996
Engelhard, Gunther. "Abstraktion: Mark Rothko." Art: das Kunstmagazin 7 (1996): 16, repro.
1997
Founders and Heirs of the New York School. Exh. cat. Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1997: 16, repro.
Baigell, Matthew. Jewish-American Artists and the Holocaust. New Brunswick, 1997.
1998
Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 206, repro.
Inscriptions
lower right: Mark Rothko; center left reverse: MARK ROTHKO
Wikidata ID
Q20193376