No. 22

1948

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

The artwork features an abstract composition with a variety of shapes and forms. Swathes of muted colors such as blue, gray, brown, and green blend and overlap across the canvas. The shapes are amorphous and irregular. The brushstrokes are soft and vary in texture, creating movement and depth within the abstract scene.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 97.8 × 99.7 × 3.49 cm (38 1/2 × 39 1/4 × 1 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.2

  • 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

1989

  • Abstract Expressionism: Other Dimensions, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago; Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1989-1990, no. 101, repro.

2003

  • Mark Rothko: A Centennial Celebration, State Museum of Art, Riga; State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2003-2004, unnumbered brochure.

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, brochures, no. 13.

2013

  • Mark Rothko: Paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie [National Museum], Warsaw, 2013, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2018

  • Nymphéas: l'abstraction américaine et le dernier Monet [Water Lilies: American Abstraction and the Last Monet], Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 2018, no. 11, repro.

Bibliography

1978

  • Waldman, Diane. Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: A Retrospective. Exh. cat. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Los Angeles County Museum of Art. New York, 1978: no. 79 (not in exhibition).

1984

  • Clearwater, Bonnie. Mark Rothko: Works on Paper. New York, 1984: 33, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 309, repro. (repro. is incorrectly inverted, showing top of painting as the bottom).

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 373, repro.

2015

  • Langley, Allison, and Suzanne Quillen Lomax. "Mark Rothko's Multiforms, 1946-1950: Transforming the Painted Surface." Facture 2 (2015): 111-137, figs. 7, 11 (details), Table 1 no. 10.

  • Langley, Allison, and Suzanne Quillen Lomax. "Mark Rothko's Multiforms, 1946-1950: Transforming the Painted Surface." Facture: conservation, science, art history 2 (2015): 108-137, 111 unnumbered detail, figs. 7, 11.

Inscriptions

upper center reverse: MARK ROTHKO 1947 ["7" written over an illegible numeral]; upper center reverse, sideways: #22

Wikidata ID

Q20194181

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