Mark Rothko
American, born Russian, 1903 - 1970
(not assigned)New York, New York, America
SchoolAbstract Expressionism, Color Field Painting
BiographyRothko was born in Dvinsk, Russia (now Daugavpils, Latvia) on September 25, 1903, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1913. He studied at Yale University and attended classes at the Art Students League in New York. While in New York, he visited studios of many prominent painters, including Milton Avery. He also was employed by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project during the Depression. In the 1940s, Rothko became interested in Jungian psychology and psychoanalytical theory and began to incorporate these ideas into his paintings. From 1947-1949, he exhibited paintings on in California and taught at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco, where he made the acquaintance of painter Clyfford Still. Rothko's compositions made after 1949 mainly consisted of rectangles of pure color painted to appear as though they were floating on the surface of the canvas. He was awarded a number of prominent commissions in the 1950s and 1960s. Rothko committed suicide in New York on February 25, 1970.(Source: Grove Dictionary of Art Online)
American (born Dvinska, Russia) 1903, died 1970 New York, NY
Person TypeIndividual
