Untitled
1941/1942
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 61 × 81 cm (24 × 31 7/8 in.) framed: 71.12 × 91.12 × 8.26 cm (28 × 35 7/8 × 3 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.43.33
Art Historical Context
Mark Rothko's *Untitled* (1941/1942), an oil on canvas measuring 61 × 81 cm, marks an early milestone in the artist's journey toward abstraction. Created during World War II, when Rothko was establishing himself in New York's vibrant avant-garde scene, this scaled painting reflects his transition from figurative works rooted in social realism to more experimental forms influenced by Surrealism. this stage, Rothko—alongside peers like Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman—was part of the nascent Abstract Expressionist movement, exploring subconscious imagery and myth-making amid global turmoil. T...
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...