Mark Rothko: Paintings on Paper

Mark Rothko (1903–1970) is renowned for his towering abstract paintings on canvas; joy, despair, ecstasy, and tragedy are among the themes that he sought to express in his luminous works. Despite Rothko’s prominence, few people know that he also created more than 1,000 paintings on paper over the course of his career. The artist viewed these not as preliminary studies but as finished paintings in their own right. These remarkable paintings range from early figurative subjects and surrealist works to the soft-edged rectangular fields, often realized at monumental scale, for which Rothko is best known. These works challenge our expectations about how painting is defined, as well as popular ideas about Rothko and his career. In this beautifully illustrated volume, Adam Greenhalgh traces the role these works played in the artist’s reception, reputation, and success.