Mark Rothko

American painter of Latvian-Jewish descent (1903–1970)

Source-basedFalling

Lived 1903–1970, aged 67United States

United States ArtistsArtist

Fame39.8
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Artists rank#37
Wikipedia65.2K

Wikipedia
62 languages
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Era
1903–1970
Aged 67

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Rothko made vast floating rectangles of color that supposedly moved people to tears—or at least confused them quietly in museums. His color field paintings dominated the American abstract expressionism scene from 1949 to 1970.

Biography

About

Mark Rothko was a Latvian-born American abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular regions of color, which he produced from 1949 to 1970. Although Rothko did not personally subscribe to any one school, he is associated with the American abstract expressionism movement of modern art.

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