Rothko

Mark Rothko (born Markus Rothkowitz; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970) was a Latvian-born American painter who became one of the central figures of mid-20th-century American art. A leading figure in abstract expressionism and a pioneer of color field painting, Rothko is best known for large, luminous canvases that feature stacked rectangles of color with soft, radiant edges.

Born in Dvinsk, then part of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia), Rothko immigrated to the United States with his family in 1913 and settled in Portland, Oregon. He studied at the Art Students League of New York and pursued a career in New York’s modernist circles, gradually moving from representational work toward an abstract language of color.

From the 1950s onward, his mature works comprised monumental fields of color—often two or three soft-edged rectangles arranged vertically on large canvases. He built the surfaces through thin, layered glazes to achieve a glow that seems to emanate from within the pigment. The paintings emphasize perception and emotion over narrative, inviting viewers to experience a contemplative, intimate encounter with color.

Rothko’s best-known bodies of work include the Seagram Murals, created for the Seagram Building in New York, and the later series produced for the Rothko Chapel in Houston. He died by suicide in New York City in 1970.

His influence endures in the emphasis on color, scale, and contemplative experience that helped shape postwar abstraction. His works are held by major museums worldwide and remain a focus of ongoing study and display.