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Mark Rothko: Paintings on Paper

Upcoming Exhibition

November 19, 2023 – March 31, 2024
East Building Mezzanine and Upper Level

Joy, despair, ecstasy, tragedy: these are some of the themes that Mark Rothko sought to express in his luminous art. Rothko is renowned for his towering abstract paintings on canvas, but few people know that he also created more than 1,000 paintings on paper over the course of his career. He viewed these as finished paintings in their own right—not simply preliminary studies intended for his own eyes. These remarkable works challenge our expectations about what “counts” as painting, as well as popular ideas about Rothko and his career.

This exhibition brings together more than 100 of Rothko’s most compelling paintings on paper, many on view for the first time. They range from early figurative subjects and surrealist works to the soft-edged rectangular fields, often realized at monumental scale, for which Rothko is best known. Together, these radiant, rarely displayed paintings transform our understanding of one of the preeminent artists of the 20th century.

Selected Works

Mark Rothko, Untitled (seated figure in interior), c. 1938, watercolor on construction paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.56.511. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled (seated woman in striped blouse), 1933/1934, watercolor on construction paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.56.472. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled (bathers on the beach), 1934, watercolor and graphite on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1944/1945, watercolor, ink, and graphite on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1944/1945, watercolor, ink, and graphite on watercolor paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.221. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1944/1945, watercolor, ink, and graphite on watercolor paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.217. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, c. 1946, watercolor and ink on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, c. 1949, watercolor on watercolor paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.257. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1959, oil on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1959, oil on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1969, acrylic on wove paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.275. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1968, acrylic on watercolor paper mounted on hardboard, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.263. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

The exhibition is curated by Adam Greenhalgh, associate curator, National Gallery of Art.

Other venues
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway, May 16–September 22, 2024

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1959, oil on watercolor paper, private collection. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko