Phalanx of the Mind

1945

Mark Rothko

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

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 137.9 x 90.8 cm (54 5/16 x 35 3/4 in.)
    framed: 142.4 x 95.3 x 5.9 cm (56 1/16 x 37 1/2 x 2 5/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1986.43.6

  • 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

1946

  • Oils and Watercolors by Mark Rothko, San Francisco Museum of Art; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1946, no cat. (shown only in San Francisco).

1947

  • Mark Rothko: Recent Paintings, Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, 1947, checklist no. 11.

1978

  • Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: A Retrospective, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1978-1979, no. 33, repro.

1990

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA Natonal Lending Service exhibition), Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 1990-1991.

1991

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA Natonal Lending Service exhibition), Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn, New York, 1991.

1992

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA Natonal Lending Service exhibition), Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, 1992.

1993

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, March-May 1993.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Payne Gallery, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January-February 1993.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Salina Art Center, Kansas, August-October 1993.

1994

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Ball State University Museum of Art, Muncie, Indiana, April-May 1994.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Wallach Art Gallery, New York, NY, February-March 1994.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, Wisconsin, June-July 1994.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Marsh Gallery, University of Richmond, Virginia, August-September 1994.

1995

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), San Diego Musuem of Art, March-May 1995.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, January-February 1995.

1996

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Lore Degenstein Gallery, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, September-October 1996.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, June-August 1996.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Palm Springs Desert Museum, California, 1996-1997.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), The Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, January-March 1996.

1997

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California, June-September 1997.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, January-March 1997.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Midland Center for the Arts, Michigan, September-November 1997.

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, April-June 1997.

1998

  • Mark Rothko: The Spirit of Myth, Early Paintings from the 1930s and 1940s (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, 1998.

1999

  • Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Musee d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1999, no. 13 (Paris cat.), repro. (shown only in Paris).

2012

  • Mark Rothko, Portland Art Museum, Oregon, 2012, no catalogue.

2013

  • Mark Rothko: Paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie [National Museum], Warsaw, 2013, unnumbered catalogue, 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. 9, repro.

Bibliography

1947

  • Collier, Oscar. "Mark Rothko." The New Iconograph 4 (1947): 42, repro.

1982

  • Rose, Barbara. Miro in America. Exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1982: 24, repro.

1983

  • Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Rev. ed. of 1955 Ph.D. dissertation. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, 1983: no. 211, repro.

1990

  • Rexroat, Dee Ann. "National Rothko Exhibit Debuts in Cedar Rapids." Cedar Rapids Gazette (1990): 2W, repro.

1991

  • Patterson, Tom. "Stages: Exhibition Traces Development of Rothko's Art." Winston-Salem Journal (1991): C3.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 301, repro.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 261, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q20193653

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