Book Description

This extraordinary book is the first volume of the definitive catalogue raisonn_ of Rothko`s work. It documents his entire output of paintings on canvas and panel, reproducing all the works in color. An introductory text also investigates every essential feature of his art.

Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington

. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Fan of Anfam's Rothko
Opening the package as it arrived from Amazon, easing this massive catalogue from its slipcase triggered a memory: walking to the edge of the Grand Canyon. With similar impact: awe. David Anfam brings the reader with him to encounter, view, & experience Rothko's work. His ten-year dedication paid off with the discovery of "lost" titles, setting the chronology of 836 works on canvas, (he couldn't have been afraid to get his hands dirty) & analyzing the slow struggle, sporadic leaps engendered by the painter in the evolution of the oeuvre. As scholar, teacher, critic, curator, & especially writer, Anfam proves the perfect choice to perform the daunting, almost impossible task of bringing Rothko into focus.

The author insightfully tracks the early representational beginnings, (his foray into narrative linked with crossing boundaries is totally appropriate for the artist from Dvinsk, Portland, New York) through the mythological (application of Kermode's distinction between "Chronos" & "Kairos" is utterly intriguing), & makes a case for Rembrandt as the source for Rothko's obsessions with tragedy & darkness, Vermeer his source for color's sensuality. Anfam traces in detail, using numerous examples of the brilliant reproductions, how the multiforms foreshadowed the work of the classic period. The architectural contexts for the Chapel are pure genius: Vincent Scully's, "The Earth, the Temple, & the Gods"; Joseph Rykwert's, "The Dancing Column"; & Leo Bersani's, Ulysse Dutoit's, "Arts of Impoverishment."

Anfam's breadth of vocabulary is English, yet he has benfitted from years in the States with a rapid, laconic language that impels the reader forward, informs succinctly. Purposely parrying time-worn quarrels, he unearths the more "thorny," "shady" aspects of dilemmas presented by such a complex art.

Two things happened as a result of reading MARK ROTHKO / THE WORKS on CANVAS / CATALOGUE RAISONNE. During a recent visit to C&M Gallery in NY for a show of eight Rothko's, alone in the second room, I heard them. A few nights ago I had a dream of a handwritten note on a table in the front room of an auction house that said, "The Last Painting." Rereading Helene Cixous's essay by that name (subtitled, "Or the Portrait of God"), she writes, "I think of the last Rembrandt. A man? Or a painting?" [in Cixous', "Coming to Writing and other Essays."] Anfam has presented us with the triumphant Rothko.

A must for any Rothko fan.
This is the first publication with his entire collection. Even lost paintings are represented by old black and white photographs. The images are not large, but the quality of this book is wonderful. By far the best buy for any Rothko fan (besides an original...)

This is an invaluable study.
Anfam's study is a great deal more than a much-needed reference book. Anyone interested in the history of modern art would find this study illuminating and exciting. Not only does it provide the first complete catalogue of Rothko's paintings on canvas (almost all in gorgeous color reproduction), it also includes numerous fresh and original insights concerning Rothko's intellectual and artistic sources. A monumental scholarly achievement, this volume will long remain a model for the field.

Amazing Study by Brilliant Author
David Anfam has given students of twentieth-century art the much needed and previously missing in-depth study of Mark Rothko, a key figure in understanding the esoteric art of this century. Lesser studies by lesser minds have failed where Anfam has not -- scholarly attention to detail; carefully informed visual analysis of ALL the works on canvas; subtle conclusions; historical context. Anfam's rasionne is a must read!

A dazzling achievment by a gifted art historian.
A work of major importance in the history of modernism, David Anfam's catalogue raisonne is brilliant, lively, entertaining, and handsome. Combining vigorous scholarship with creative imagination, it offers the best ever understanding of Rothko and must be considered a prerequisite to any and all encounters with Rothko. Anfam's eloquent text takes the reader through the paintings in a most delightful way while the paintings themselves are a joy to see thanks to what surely were monumental efforts on the part of all those involved with design and production. This book is the best of its kind in every way and a bargain at the price! ... Read more

Book Description

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is generally considered, along with Jackson Pollock, the preeminent artist of the group of painters who, during the 1940s and '50s, re-invented American art and became known as the Abstract Expressionists. Yet despite his success--people cried when they stood in front of his sublimely spiritual canvases--he suffered from intense anxiety and depression, and eventually took his own life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful Presentation !
This concise but very informational book is a must for anyone interested in the works of Rothko, and for those who want to know about the rise of abstract expressionism. There are full color illustrations provided which add greatly to the narrative!
The margin notes have a wealth of background material, without being too bogged down in minutia.
This work has been a wonderful addition to my art library as I am certain it will be to others.

A terrific book
A concise, well-written introduction to postwar American art through the work of one of America's greatest painters. Highly educational and a great read. Excellent reproductions. I coulnd't put it down. Makes a great gift, too.

Informative and entertaining
A terrific book for those who are knowledgeable about the artist and those who are not. Ottmann packs a lot of history into his stimulating and extremely well-written pages. Ottmann's compelling and accessible prose makes this book hard to put down. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

AN EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION OF ROTHKO'S ARTISTIC GENIUS
________________________________________________________________________________________________

I picked this book up at the Chicago Art Institute years ago and continue to enjoy referring to it. Publisher Abrams always does a good job presenting great artists in the various books in its series. I find this to be the best representation of Mark Rothko in its price group, affordable for everyone. The reproductions are excellent and provide fascinating examples of the artist's development from his earlier paintings and throughout his later work. Diane Waldman gives a good, but limited, biography - that's to be expected though, this artist's life was very complex and much has been written about him.

For those wanting a more complete catalog of oil paintings I would recommend MARK ROTHKO: THE WORKS ON CANVAS: CATALOGUE RAISONNE by David Anfam. Also, the book THE LEGACY OF MARK ROTHKO by Lee Seldes is a very absorbing/shocking biography covering the artist's life and problems, including his tragic end.

This is a 5 star book and I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Book Description

This beautifully produced, oversized monograph on the American artist Mark Rothko, presents over 100 of his works in full-color plates that reveal his remarkable genius. Rothko is one of the towering figures of Abstract Expressionism, and in fact, of 20th-century painting as a whole. His paintings, predominantly in a large format and featuring horizontal layers of pigment on a monochrome foundation, will forever be in our pictorial memory as the epitome of classical modernism. By considering Rothko's central groups of works from all creative periods-among them the Rothko Room in the Phillips Collection and the Harvard Murals at Harvard University-this book documents the artist's continuous struggle to arrive at "a consummated experience between picture and onlooker." Rothko's adamant insistence on controlling the presentation of his works set him apart from the art scene as early as the 1950s. His pictures were to be hung closely together in small rooms, in which soft lighting and his large formats were to provide an immediate viewing experience. This book attempts to recreate that atmosphere with a large, uninterrupted plate section that brings to life the vibrancy and power of these paintings, especially when looked at in abundance. In addition to the over 100 color works, "Mark Rothko" includes essays about specific groups of work, an extensive, year by year, descriptive chronology of his life and work, and an exhaustive bibiography of writings about him from the past five years. An essential addition to any collection on 20th century art.

Mark Rothko was born in Russia in 1903, and emigrated to the United States as a child. He studied at Yale University and the Art Students League in New York. He was a founder of the Expressionist group "The Ten" in 1935. He continued to work and exhibit until his death by suicide in 1970. His work has been shown in solo exhibitions both during and after his life at major public institutions throughout the United States, and is in most major collections of modern art.

Essays by Marjorie B. Cohn, Franz Meyer, Eliza E.Rathbone, Jeffrey Weiss and Oliver Wick.

102 color and 52 b&w illustrations

11 x 12.25 inches ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of the Greatest Artists that Ever Lived
This book is just mesmerizing - it is so beautiful. Mark Rothko took art to a spiritual level that has seldom been achieved. The beauty of his colors and the simplicity of his work mesh to dominate the field of art, and make him a true master of our times. This particular book is full of color pictures of his work. Highly recommended for any art lover.

as if Rothko becomes color blind
the layout of this book is fine, but the printing is poor, the color is just not there...Rothko's work always evoke something in me when i look at it, but the coloring is so bad that it was just like looking at black and white rectangles in this book. Very disappointed. (refer to paper back edition)

An exquisite presentation
American artist Mark Rothko's artworks represents the very foundations of the Abstract Expressionist movement, and his key works are here presented in full-page color, introduced by essays from his contemporaries. This superbly produced volume with its exquisite presentation considers all of Rothko's works and contributions and is an essential acquisition for any serious collection on the Abstract Expressionist movement.

Utter Beauty
Yes, the reviewer who commented on the quality of the prints needs to get their specs looked at. This book is wonderfully produced, from the quality of the printing to the quality of the paper. It will sit alongside Anfan's wonderful catalogue raisonee on my shelves. I only wish I had followed my urge to hop on the Eurostar train from London to Paris on a day trip to see the exhibition. The last full Rothko exhibition I saw was in London in 1987, a mind expanding experience. This book is a world better than the catalogue of that exhibition and is definitely a must for any Rothko admirer. I will be in the Rothko room of the new Tate Modern gallery almost every day.

Simply Beautiful
I completely disagree with the earlier review about the quality of reproductions in this work. The colors are stunning, and this book is so well organized and detailed that it makes it a real pleasure to dive into. Nothing can compare to seeing these inspirational works in person, but if you saw the show, you have to have this book. If you missed the show, you have to have this book. Lose yourself in these paintings and you will find so much...personal revelation, power and resolve. Its a must-own for the true Rothko fan. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fascinating introduction
Ms. Chave's book is quite a good introduction to 1950's abstract-expressionist art in general, and to Rothko in particular. She convincingly traces his development from realistic imagery through Miro-like surrealism to his distinctive ethereal but emotional rectangles. Along the way, she makes a good case for his stubborn insistence that his work did, in fact, have a subject. At least one other art-thinker, Georgia O'Keeffe, caught on to this (in a documentary made a few years before she died, O'Keeffe commented that a Rothko piece in the MOMA seemed like a timeline of a man's life), as did at least one of Rothko's more sensitive collectors (this is chronicled in the book). This, in my opinion, is why Rothko's work isn't ideally suited for calm meditation, unlike that of some other abstract artists (which is not to say that being meditative is a bad thing, by the way). I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't quite get modern art, and is willing to put some effort into the task. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great introduction to Mark Rothko.
This is a great introduction to the works of Mark Rothko. The reproductions of his work are very interesting. There is some background information on Rothko and some essays from other artists. ... Read more

Book Description

The best full-scale biography of this intellectually restless, deeply committed artist.

As the Washington Post says, "Dore Ashton brings the reader to the very core of Mark Rothko's art." She draws on her countless interviews with the artist--giving little credence to the false mythology surrounding his work--to take us to the heart of Rothko's painting, showing its derivation from his reading, travel, and thought. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

definitive
The definitive book on Mark Rothko's work, by one of his closest friends. Ashton gets as close as she can to a very elusive, contradictory person. The book requires the same kind of sublime imagination that Rothko's paintings - his "children," as he often called them - require. Those without soul should pass this book by.

Quality vs Quantity
The most intelligent and sensitive writing on Rothko's painting and thinking. Dore Ashton continues to be the most perceptive individual representing painters and their concerns. She is an amateur in the true sense - L. amator - lover, fr. amare - to love. Would that more writers on painting share her imagination, enthusiasm and integrity.

I thought it was about something else!
Seriously I did. The first time I saw a Rothko painting was at the SFMoMA. It covered an entire wall of the room and was the biggest thing on canvas I have ever seen. I was hoping that Dore Ashton's book would give me an insight into the meaning and style of Rothko, but rather, it seemed to be a biography of the man rather than a critism of the work. I suppose that's partially my fault since I'm sure there quite a bit of art critism books out there on Rothko...unfortunately, the historical presentation of the book isn't really all that interesting. I guess in the end, the big picture is that Rothko was deeply influenced by his Marxist experiences because that's what I got from Ashton's book. On a side note, Dore Ashton writes for Modern Painter magazine, which is actually a good magazine.

The worst book about Rothko?
Out of two hundred plus pages here you will find a grand total of maybe two pages' worth of remarks that strike you by their precision, sensitivity, and depth of understanding of the work - that is until you realize that these are without exception quotes from the artist himself. Ashton herself seems to have nothing to say "about Rothko". Desperate to write a "big" and "important" book, she offers empty hyperbole in place of thoughtful analysis, coated in such convoluted, meaningless, and purely academic lingo that by page five reading the book becomes a painful chore not unlike having to clean the underside of a sanitation truck with a toothbrush. Frankly, I don't see how a manual on transmission repair could offer fewer insights into Rothko's painting.

Ashton's cryptic writing mirrors Rothko's mystery
I read the book in the eighties, when it was published-- I was attracted to the great photo of Rothko on the cover-- the book is a loving Rothko-like homage--cryptic, deep, serious-- the lack of irony is sometimes hard to take-- but adds a sense of the compelling-- I found myself reflecting upon it-- as one might reflect upon one of the paintings-- Ashton obviously loved her subject-- oh, she describes her meetings with Rothko-- in his later, financially secure period eating in an upper east side chinese restaurant-- a delight. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"I became a painter because I wanted to raise painting to the level of poignancy of music and poetry." Born Marcus Rothkowitz in a small Russian town, Mark Rothko immigrated to Portland, Oregon, in 1913, when he was 10 years old. "You don't know what it is to be a Jewish kid dressed in a suit that is a Dvinsk, not an American, idea of a suit traveling across America and not able to speak English," he later told fellow abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell. Rothko was a weak child, an abandoned son (his father had gone to America in 1910 and died of cancer just seven months after the family was reunited), a Jew excluded from high school clubs, a Yale freshman on scholarship, and a college dropout determined to become an Artist with a capital A. James Breslin has written an exhaustive biography of the painter. He pulled together all the facts of Rothko's life and carefully examined all the strata of the artist's personality--Rothko's sensitivity, his sense of displacement, his pride and his diffidence, his combativeness, his love for his children, his hatred for Marlborough Gallery director Frank Lloyd, and his difficulties with money. The book is flawed only by Breslin's ticlike use of italics, which give the sense of the author tugging at our sleeve in an unnecessary effort to persuade: "Rothko's last and most severe renunciations were made not to remove obstacles between the observer and the idea but in a gesture of personal withdrawal." But this is a relatively minor trifle that does not unduly detract from this large--and large-spirited--book about a tormented, brilliant Artist. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (3)

For Rothko, the best a book can do
No book can do Mark Rothko justice. He painted on large
canvases. To know him is to confront his original work
on the wall before you. Find your distance, 10, 15,
maybe 30 feet back. Yet to make sense of his
colored rectangles tearing themselves apart in fission,
as well as his earlier, quite different work, some
background helps.

Breslin's book will become the standard reference, but
not perhaps the starting point. He writes engrossingly,
but the 558 pages of text, I fear, will discourage the
casual reader (who might do well to read Robert
Hughes's paragraphs in American Visions).

Still, for the motivated reader, James Breslin's bio is
awesome. The Latvian Jew, charity student at
antisemitic Yale in the early 20s, uncomfortable and
smarter than most there, comes alive, as does his love
for children and their art, as well as his tormented
first marriage to a wife commercially successful during
the Great Depression making jewelry that sold. Rothko
had higher ambitions: fine art spelled with a capital
"A". As Breslin relates, discomfort never disappeared.
Success and recognition did not go over well with
this self-described anarchist who, as a Portland
teenager, enthusiastically took in lectures by Emma
Goldman. Overall, Breslin provides a biographical and
historical foundation with which to understand Mark
Rothko's painting. I am grateful for that.

Finally, of the many biographies I've read, James EB
Breslin's stands out for another reason: in his
Afterword, he turns from Rothko to himself and
addresses his own motivations and challenges in writing
the biography. Biographies are never "objective", so it
makes sense that a biographer might address his own
motivations. In the descriptions of the dangers of
doing research in Rothko's birthplace of Dvinsk, in
interviewing art historian Clement Greenberg, Rothko
reappears again, this time indirectly, one step
removed. That Breslin can bring Rothko alive in these

different contexts is testament to the enduring value
of this long, challenging biography.

Exhaustive, too easy to put down.
If you really want to know Rothko, read Dore Ashton. Breslin tends to simplify things and I don't think that he really loves Rothko or has communicated with the paintings. Only for die-hard Rothkoites like me.

One finds reverence in the read and in the self.
Within the power of a single Rothko painting is the power to inspire a deeply rich volume of subtle and large meanings. Breslin offers a non-stop flight through the creative intelligence and expressed worlds of Rothko. The reader is met with a gorgeous poetic escape from the mundane reality of worldly distress. Breslin could not have had more success. To read this book is to enter a cathedral: one finds reverence in the read and in the self. Rothko's suicide seems like a scribble on the wall. The wall may remain forever marred. The bitter marks, and this book, evoke so many lost possibilities for the artist and his audience. ... Read more

Book Description

A radiant celebration of Abstract Expressionist master's drawings, watercolors, paintings on paper. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

a terrific little bargain
There are many larger, fatter and even better books on Rothko, but this little volume is pretty solid. At ten bucks, you shouldn't even wait for the second thought: it's a sure thing. It includes a wealth of color reproductions, and frankly their scale is surprisingly generous for a book of modest dimensions. Some are as large as the repros in all but the largest-format Rothko books. Taschen has wisely chosen to devote a full, text-less page to most of the canvases reprinted here, and the photography is fine and sensitive. Good quality photos like these reveal nuances that make the photos effectively "larger".

The text covers Rothko's life and analyzes his thought, innovations and development through abundant quotations and sound analysis. There's unusually full exploration of his early work, and a good chapter on his symbolist-surrealist myth-paintings (though I miss seing "Slow Swirl by the Edge of the Sea.") The book also includes a few works by other artists where appropriate (as in the reprint of a Matisse painting that Rothko answered with his "Hommage to Matisse"). It's a complete yet efficient book, as are most of the titles in this series.

My sole important reservation about the book concerns the minimal coverage of the essential "multiform" period of Rothko's work--only three or so examples appear here. That's an important failing, but not enough to dull my overall enthusiasm. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Art not just for arts' sake
In this interesting and enlightening book, Lee Seldes takes us into a world few of us will ever know. Most of us go to museums and enjoy the works, but we never think of the wheeling and dealing behind it. Seldes first shows us the troubled artist, then shows how greedy individuals will do whatever they need to to scam, lie and steal to increase their bank accounts and inflate the prices of the works they own. We see how Kate Rothko, still in school, must fight multi millionaire art dealers and powerful galleries to get what is rightfully hers, and to see that her father's legacy is presented and perserved the way he wanted it to be. If you're a lover of modern art, the works of Mark Rothko or even to a degree a fan of mystery stories, you'll enjoy this book and continue thinking about it long after you've finished reading.

An EXCELLENT book on Mark Rothko!
Ms. Seldes has produced a superb book! This is a must read for anyone interested in Mark Rothko, the Matter of Rothko, or the ugly commercial world of art. While her writings on the lawsuits and the cast of characters are somewhat confusing, it's hard to blame the author because the subject matter itself was confusing! The book was almost hard to believe that it was non-fiction! It had all the intrigue of Swiss banks, Concorde jetsetters, the New York art scene, and tax havens like Bahamas and Lichtenstein -- and it all really happened! I congratulate Ms. Seldes on a very strong effort! ... Read more

Book Description

In 75 full-color plates, The Art of Mark Rothko is an exploration of the artist and his work over the course of a 50-year career, including his often overlooked formative years. Essays contributed by some of the most influential critics of our time examine all four periods of Rothko's stylistic development. Illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

In the summer of 1957, Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko renewed a friendship that had begun in the late 20s. All three were in Provincetown, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in the light and by the sea, and over the next few extraordinary summers they interacted, and advanced and accelerated radical new ideas in their individual bodies of work. The Provincetown summers witnessed Avery's largest and most abstract paintings, such as Sunset Sea of 1958, and the development of new directions in Gottlieb's work, including his 1957 paintings Blast II and Blue at Night. This same time marked the darkening of Rothko's palette and, in 1958, the birth of the new forms found in the Seagram Murals and the later paintings of of the Harvard commission. Coming to Light is the first publication and exhibition to focus on the works of this period by each artist.

Edited by E.A. Carmean.
Essays by Philip Cavanaugh, Sean Avery Cavanaugh, Tony Vevers, Christopher Rothko, William Scharf, Justin Spring, Madeleine Sentner and Edye Weissler.
Introduction by Robert Henry.
Foreword by Ann Freedman.

Hardcover, 10.25 x 9.75 in.,22 color,9 duotone illustrations ... Read more

Book Description

The paintings executed in 1964-1967 by American artist Mark Rothko for the Rothko Chapel in Houston represent the fulfillment of the artist's lifelong ambition and a breakthrough in twentieth-century art. Unlike previous sets of paintings commissioned for the Seagram Building and Harvard University, the Chapel commission allowed Rothko to determine the architectural setting and lighting in which the paintings would appear. This proved to be the catalyst for a new mode of pictorial dynamics based on a kind of interaction of paintings, architecture, and light previously unknown. No painting in the set could be understood in isolation from the rest or apart from its place in the architectural setting.The Rothko Chapel Paintings explores this interdependence of paintings and place. As viewers move about the Chapel's octagonal enclosure, over whose walls the fourteen panels are continuously distributed, they discover systems of pictorial interactions which become the terms or characters of a cosmological drama in which the viewer is a necessary participant. In the act of vision, the embodied viewer is prompted not merely to witness but also to reenact that questioning of human destiny which has preoccupied the Western spiritual tradition. ... Read more