Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) was known for his color field paintings, which he created in the last 20 years of his life. He was part of the New York school of painters and was instrumental in introducing Abstract Expressionism to the art world. Rothko was of Latvian Jewish descent and emigrated with his family from Russia to the United States when he was a child. He moved to New York City as an adult where he focused on painting urban scenery. After World War II, Rothko's art began to transition into Surrealism. Toward the end of the 1940s, he began to paint canvases with fields of pure color, which he abstracted into rectangular color forms, a painting method he would employ for the rest of his life.
Show more