Mark Rothko

Born Marcus Rothkovitch in Russia in 1903, his family emigrated to United States in 1913 and settled in Portland, Oregon. In 1921 he entered Yale University but left two years later to travel the United States. Rothko settled in New York City in 1925. There he started painting and briefly studied under Max Weber, but he was essentially a self-taught artist. His work grew in abstraction to the color field paintings for which he is best known. These Abstract Expressionist paintings were highly personal to Rothko, with large, rectangular areas of color, usually three, that seem to melt into one antoher and float over the canvas. Color was Rothko's sole means of expression. Through color, he provides a emotional and spiritual journey for the viewer. His paintings, contrary to other Abstract Expressionists, were executed with virtually gestureless brushwork,which is perhaps what makes his work so compelling. While still in New York City, he suffered from ill health and felt abandoned by those who had learned most from his painting and he ultimately commited suicide in 1970. Today Rothko's works can be seen in Great Britain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Israel, the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, the Whitney Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in addtion to 19 other museums throughout the United States.

Mark Rothko Images:
Blue, Green, Blue On Blue Ground
Blue, Orange, Red
Earth And Green
No. 14
No. 14, 1960
Orange On Yellow
Orange, Brown
Red On Maroon
Untitled, 1960
Untitled, 1962
Violet, Green & Red