Aquatic Drama

1946

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: 92.1 x 122.2 cm (36 1/4 x 48 1/8 in.)
    framed: 100.7 x 131.1 x 9.5 cm (39 5/8 x 51 5/8 x 3 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1986.43.10

  • 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

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. 59, repro. (shown only in New York).

1987

  • Mark Rothko 1903-1970, The Tate Gallery, London; Fundación Juan March, Madrid; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 1987-1988, no. 23 (London catalogue), no. 8 (Madrid catalogue), no. 20 (Cologne catalogue), repros.

1994

  • New York: A Magnet for Artists, Toyko Metropolitan Art Museum, 1994, no. 113, repro.

1995

  • Les figures de la liberté [mille neuf cent quarante-cinq], [1945 or the Figures of Freedom - New Artistic Expressions of the Immediate Period After World War II], Musée Rath, Geneva, 1995-1996, no. 135, repro.

1998

  • Sea Change, The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York, 1998, unnumbered catalogue, pl. 12.

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. 12, repro.

2012

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

  • 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. 24, 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. 13, repro.

Bibliography

1979

  • Goddard, Donald. "Rothko's Journey into the Unknown." Art News 78 (1979): 36-40.

1983

  • Weiss, Jeffrey. "Science and Primitivism: A Fearful Symmetry in the Early New York School." Arts Magazine 57 (1983): 84, repro.

1987

  • Iglesias, Jose Maria. "Mark Rothko: Una Plegaria Silenciosa." Formas Plasticas 21 (1987): 30, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 307, repro.

1993

  • Wood, Paul. Modernism in Dispute: Art Since the Forties. New Haven, 1993: 36, repro.

1997

  • American Art (Summer 1997): 133, fig. 27.

  • Eldredge, Charles C. "Wet Paint: Herman Melville, Elihu Vedder, and Artists Undersea." American Art 11, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 108-135, fig. 27.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 312, repro.

Inscriptions

upper right reverse: Aquatic Drama / 1946 / MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q20193819

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