Untitled
1945/1946
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 54.8 x 65.1 cm (21 9/16 x 25 5/8 in.) framed: 63.8 x 74.3 x 6.8 cm (25 1/8 x 29 1/4 x 2 11/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
1986.43.102
Art Historical Context
Mark Rothko's *Untitled* (1945/1946), an oil on canvas measuring 21 9/16 x 25 5/8 inches, captures a pivotal moment in the artist's evolution. Created just after World War II, this modestly scaled painting reflects Rothko's transition from figurative works inspired by mythology and Surrealism toward the abstract, emotive fields of color that would define his legacy in Abstract Expressionism. As a founding member of the New York School, Rothko sought to evoke profound emotional and spiritual responses, moving beyond representation to pure sensory experience. Oil on canvas allowed Rothko to lay...
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...