Untitled (Seagram Mural sketch)

1959

Mark Rothko

Associated Names
Mark Rothko

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

This painting contains two squares of a deep, reddish-brown color, one on the right side and one on the left. The square on the right is closer to the edge of the painting than the square on the left is. Surrounding these squares is a lighter, red-orange color. At the very edge of the painting, there is a thin border of the darker color. The edges of these different shapes are rough, and the lighter color overlaps with the darker color. Additionally, the lighter paint has been applied unevenly, creating slight variations in tone.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil and mixed media on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

  • Dimensions

    overall: 182.6 x 450.2 cm (71 7/8 x 177 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1986.43.156

  • 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

2012

  • The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection, The Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades; Cleveland Museum of Art; Musée des beaux-arts du Québec, 2012-2013, no. 46, repro. (shown only in Cleveland).

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. 45, repro.

Bibliography

1988

  • Mark Rothko: The Seagram Mural Project. Exh. cat. The Tate Gallery, London, 1988.

1989

  • Kellein, Thomas. Mark Rothko: Kaaba in New York. Exh. cat. Kunsthalle, Basel, 1989: 79, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 322, repro.

1998

  • Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven and London, 1998: no. 651, repro.

Inscriptions

upper left reverse: MARK ROTHKO

Wikidata ID

Q20195389

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