Head and Shoulders of a Woman, Eyes Cast Downward
1901 to 1925
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
pen and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 21.6 x 27.8 cm (8 1/2 x 10 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.56.51
Art Historical Context
In the quiet intimacy of this drawing, *Head and Shoulders of Woman, Eyes Cast Down*, created by Mark Rothko between 1901 and 1925, we glimpse the artist's formative years. Born in Latvia in 1903 and immigrating to the United States as a child, Rothko was just beginning his artistic journey during this period. Far from the monumental color fields for which he would later become iconic in Abstract Expressionism, this early work reveals his roots in representational portraiture, capturing a woman's contemplative gaze with tender sensitivity. Executed in pen and black ink on smooth wove paper—a ...
About the Artist
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (born Marcus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970) stands as one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century American art and a central pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. Born into a Jewish family in Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia), then part of the Russian Empire, Rothko's early life was marked by the fear and persecution faced by Jews in Tsarist Rus...