Untitled (two women before a cityscape)

1936/1937

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

The image shows abstract shapes and rough lines forming two figures interacting in the foreground. The figures are elongated and painted in faded green and pink tones with visible brush strokes. In the background, blocky shapes with red, black, and orange colors suggest buildings or a city skyline, with a red flag in the upper left. The figures have hand gestures that could resemble a conversation, suggesting human interaction in a city setting. The brushwork and color palette convey a dreamlike, abstract representation of a social scene.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 56 x 70.9 cm (22 1/16 x 27 15/16 in.)
    framed: 64.3 x 79.5 x 5.1 cm (25 5/16 x 31 5/16 x 2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.52

  • 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

1937

  • Possibly The 'Ten': Art Auction Benefit of Spanish Children, 85 Clark Street, Brooklyn, 1937, checklist no. 28, as Landscape.

1992

  • Jüdische Lebenswelten (Patterns of Jewish Life), Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 1992, not in cat.

1994

  • Against the Stream: Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko in the 1930s, Katonah Museum of Art, New York, 1994, unnumbered catalogue, fig. 17.

1995

  • Mark Rothko, Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Chiba-ken; Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art; Nagoya City Art Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1995-1996, no. 3, repro.

Bibliography

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 283, repro.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 90, repro., as Landscape [?] {Untitled}.

Inscriptions

lower left reverse, sideways: M Rothko

Wikidata ID

Q20193065

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