Street Scene

1936/1937

Mark Rothko

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

Abstracted people and buildings nearly fill this vertical painting around a sky painted moss green with a white crescent moon. Two people at the bottom center of the composition have peach- and gray-toned skin. One appears to wear a narrowly brimmed hat, a black coat over a white shirt and red bowtie, and brown pants striped with red. A second smaller person stands in front of the first, wearing a blue, white, and red striped hat and a pale pink, shin-length dress dotted with white. Their hands and the second person’s legs are painted tomato red. A person with all-over, red-colored skin wears a muted blue, long-sleeved dress stands along the right edge of the painting. A tan-colored form under an archway in a smoke-gray building to the left could be another person, and a fifth person with peach-colored skin walks toward us on the plum-purple street a short distance behind the front pair. A building with a straw-yellow façade facing the street and black side facing us is to the right. More structures painted in tones of navy and ultramarine blue, shell-pink, white, and charcoal gray rise against the green-toned sky. The artist signed the painting near the lower right corner, “Rothkowitz.”
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 91.5 x 55.8 cm (36 x 21 15/16 in.)
    framed: 101.3 x 65.7 x 11.1 cm (39 7/8 x 25 7/8 x 4 3/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1986.43.45

  • Copyright

    Copyright © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

More About this Artwork

Video:  Investigating Rothko's Technique

Jay Krueger, Head of Painting Conservation at the National Gallery, discusses the exhibition In the Tower: Mark Rothko and the enigmatic black paintings featured in the show.

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

1937

  • The 'Ten': Art Auction Benefit of Spanish Children, 85 Clark Street, Brooklyn, 1937, checklist no. 26.

1938

  • 2nd American Artists Congress Exhibition, John Wanamaker's Picture Gallery, New York, 1938, checklist no. 128.

1990

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

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.

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

  • 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), Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California, June-September 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.

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. 3, repro.

2010

  • In the Tower: Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, unnumbered brochure, fig. 6.

2012

  • Mark Rothko: Selections from the National Gallery of Art, Academy Art Museum, Easton, 2012, no catalogue.

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. 1, repro.

Bibliography

1978

  • Malamud, Bernard, Diane Waldman, Claire Zamoiski. Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: A Retrospective. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1978: 32, repro.

1984

  • Clearwater, Bonnie. Mark Rothko: Works on Paper. New York, 1984: 21, repro.

1991

  • Grunenberg, Christoph. Mark Rothko. Washington, D.C., 1991: 6, fig. 2.

  • Smith, Roberta. "On Long Island, Photos, Portraits, Pollock, and Stereotyping." New York Times. (1991): C22, repro.

  • 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: 288, repro.

1994

  • "Exhibit's Paintings Reflect Artist's Searching for Universal Language." Campus Update (Ball State University). 14 (1994): 3, repro.

  • Millard, Nancy. "Rare Opportunity Awaits at Museum." Muncie Star. (1994): B1, repro.

1995

  • Knight, Christopher. "The Spirit of Myth Only Whets Appetite." Los Angeles Times. (1995): F1, F7.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: 150, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: Rothkowitz

Wikidata ID

Q20193054

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