Seated Figure in Armchair with Hands in Lap
1901 to 1925
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
brush and black ink with gouache on textured wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 25.3 x 20.3 cm (9 15/16 x 8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.56.314
Art Historical Context
**Seated Figure in Arm with Hands in Lap** is an intimate early drawing by Mark Rothko, created sometime between 1901 and 1925. Born in 1903 in present-day Latvia and immigrating to the United States as a child, Rothko produced this work during his formative years, long before his fame as a pioneer of abstract expressionism and color field painting in the mid-20th century. At just 25.3 x 20.3 cm, the piece captures a quiet, contemplative seated figure in an armchair, hands resting calmly in the lap—a stark contrast to the vast, emotive canvases of his later career. Rendered in brush and black...
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...