Sacrificial Moment

1945

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

This painting shows an intricate abstract composition with curving lines and overlapping forms in pastel hues, with pops of yellow, orange, and red. There are shapes resembling objects such as a shell-like structure and elongated limbs. The central mass has elements reminiscent of an eye or some kind of internal organ. The background is divided into wide horizontal lines of pale green, purple, and red, with some yellow shapes at the top that could remind us of windows.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 98 x 70.5 cm (38 9/16 x 27 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.74

  • 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

1947

  • Fifty-Eighth Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture: Abstract and Surrealist American Art, Art Institute of Chicago, 1947, no. 198.

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), 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.

  • 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), 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), The Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, January-March 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.

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.

2000

  • Mark Rothko and the Lure of the Figure: Paintings 1933-1946, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, 2000-2001, no. 14, repro.

2002

  • The Tiger's Eye: the Art of a Magazine, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2002, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2012

  • 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. 18, repro.

Bibliography

1948

  • The Tiger's Eye 3 (15 March 1948): repro. 102.

1968

  • Rubin, William S. Dada and Surrealist Art. New York, 1968: repro. 448.

1983

  • Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. Rev. ed. of 1955 Ph.D. dissertation. Cambridge, Massacusetts, and London, 1983: no. 213.

1992

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

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 278, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q20193669

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