Untitled

1969

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

This painting contains two horizontal sections. The upper section is black, and it takes up more than half of the painting, but slightly less than two-thirds. The lower section is a light grayish-blue color. The line between the sections is uneven, with some small amount of blurring between the colors. Thick brushstrokes are visible in both sections, creating slight variations in color. In the blue section, there are several places where white and light brown are visible through the blue, perhaps showing us the canvas beneath.
This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.
On View

East Building Tower Level, Gallery E615

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    acrylic on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 229.6 x 175.9 cm (90 3/8 x 69 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.164

  • 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

1985

  • Mark Rothko: The Dark Paintings 1969-70, The Pace Gallery, New York, 1985, repro.

1989

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Mint Museum, Charlotte, 1989-1992.

1993

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, 1993-2000.

2008

  • Rothko: The Late Series, Tate Modern, London; Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura-shi, Japan, 2008-2009, unnumbered checklist, 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. 58, repro.

Bibliography

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 328, repro.

1997

  • Richler, Martha. National Gallery of Art, Washington: A World of Art. London, 1997: 198, color fig. 13.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 815, repro.

Inscriptions

center right reverse: MARK ROTHKO / 1969; on original upper horizontal crossbar member: M. Rothko

Wikidata ID

Q20197073

You may be interested in

Loading Results