Seated Female Examining Her Hands
1901 to 1925
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
pen and black ink on wove paper
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.56.203
Art Historical Context
In the quiet intimacy of *Seated Female Examining Her*, created by Mark Rothko between 1901 and 1925, we glimpse the artist's formative years long before his iconic abstract color fields. Born Marcus Rothkowitz in 1903 in what is now Latvia, Rothko immigrated to the States as a child and honed his skills in representational drawing during his early adulthood. This pen and black ink piece on wove paper captures woman in contemplative pose, her focus on her hands suggesting themes of introspection and everyday humanity—hallmarks of Rothko's initial figurative explorations. Rendered with precise...
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...