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Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Starting June 3
Exhibitions & Events
Featured event:

Block Party
Join us June 6
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Untitled

c. 1945

Mark Rothko

Associated Names

Mark Rothko

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

The artwork features swirling lines and curves creating an intricate composition of abstract shapes on a canvas filled with rich blues and neutral tones. Some shapes resemble whimsical forms, suggesting plants or creatures, with elements resembling eyes, leaves, and tendrils. The interplay of vivid orange and fluid black lines enhances the abstract quality, inviting the viewer to find connections to familiar objects in a surreal landscape.

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Artwork overview

Medium

watercolor, graphite, and ink on paper
Credit Line

Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Dimensions

overall: 57.2 x 79.5 cm (22 1/2 x 31 5/16 in.)
Accession Number

1986.43.218
Copyright

Copyright © 2005 Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

2003

"The Art of Mark Rothko: Selections from the National Gallery of Art, Washington", State Museum of Art, Riga; State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2003-2004.

2005

"The Art of Mark Rothko: Selections from the National Gallery of Art, Washington", Museo de Arte Moderna, Mexico City; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2005-2006.

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. 32, repro. (shown only in Columbia and Columbus).

Bibliography

2005

Fine, Ruth and Teresa Arcq. El arte de Mark Rothko: Selección de la Galería Nacional de Arte de Washington. Exh cat., Museo de Arte Moderna, Mexico City; Hong Kong Museum of Art; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, 2005-2006: 43, no. 11. (in the Chinese Exh. cat., no. 10)

Inscriptions

across bottom verso in black crayon: MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q64595507

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