Mark Rothko's Philosophy, Life, and Career

About this event

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is one of the most beloved artists in the Western canon, and arguably one of the most misunderstood. At 10 years old he immigrated to America from Russia (now Latvia) with little more than the Buster Brown suit he wore that reinforced his sense of being an outsider. That feeling of not belonging haunted him throughout his life and inspired his celebrated Abstract Expressionist canvases. He believed his signature paintings and the architectural environments they created from the late 1940s onward gave viewers a place to wrestle with what he called the most raw "basic human emotions," and that his lusciously colored canvases arranged to his precise specifications would function like ancient Greek tragedies, providing the springboard for catharsis. One of the tragedies of Rothko's own journey was his growing belief that many viewers misunderstood this purpose, favoring the decorative qualities of his paintings over the profound emotional experience he intended. Join art historian Matthew Palczynski as he explores the life and work of this visionary artist. General Information View Common FAQs and Policies about our Online Programs on Zoom .