Untitled (two women at the window)

c. 1937

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

The artwork depicts two women positioned at a window. The woman on the left is shown from the side, with her head tilted back and her face turned upwards. She has light-colored hair and is wearing a blue dress with red accents. Her hand is placed on the window ledge. The woman on the right, slightly behind, has short hair and is facing the viewer. She is wearing a brown garment with a light blue detail. The window frame is painted in muted blues and grays, and the background is a blend of soft earth tones.
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On View

East Building, Tower Level, Gallery E615

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 91.4 x 61 cm (36 x 24 in.)
    framed: 97.79 x 67.31 x 6.35 cm (38 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.37.1

  • 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

1938

  • Possibly The Ten: Whitney Dissenters, Mercury Galleries, New York, 1938, checklist no. 15, as Conversation.

1986

  • The Window in Twentieth-Century Art, Neuberger Museum, State University of New York at Purchase; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 1986-1987, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1993

  • Extended loan for use by Richard Aaron, U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France, 1993-1997.

2007

  • Mark Rothko, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome; Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich; Hamburger Kunsthalle, 2007-2008, no. 6 (English and German cats.), repro.

2011

  • Extended loan for use by Vice President Joseph Biden, Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C., 2011-2017.

2019

  • Mark Rothko [German title: Mark Rothko: Dramaturg der Form], Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, 2019, no. 5, repro.

Bibliography

1938

  • Lowe, Jeannette. "Whitney Dissenters Hold Their Own Exhibition." Art News 38 (1938): 15.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 291, repro.

1994

  • Against the Stream: Avery, Gottlieb, and Rothko in the 1930's. Exh. cat. Katonah Museum of Art, New York, 1994: 29, repro.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 102, repro., as Conversation [?] {Untitled}.

Inscriptions

lower right: M Rothko; upper left reverse: 1936 - MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q20193144

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