This volume is a catalog published to accompany an exhibition of the works, produced in the 1930s, of Russian-born American painter Mark Rothko (1903-1970). Rothko is generally classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter". Early in his career, Rothko worked in a realistic style that culminated in his Subway series of the late 1930s, showing the loneliness of persons in drab urban environments. This exhibition showed a gathering of Rothko's work from the 1930's, a time when he was sifting through many sources, old and new, for inspiration. Traces of Cezanne and Soutine, Renaissance Italy and Reginald Marsh all turn up in the modest-size paintings.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.