The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 1, 2023

No. 2 (Red Maroons)

1962

Mark Rothko

(American, 1903–1970)

America, 20th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 202 x 207 x 3.5 cm (79 1/2 x 81 1/2 x 1 3/8 in.); Unframed: 200.7 x 205.7 cm (79 x 81 in.)

Contemporary Collection and Friends of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1962.239

© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Location

227 Abstract Expressionism

Fun Fact

Rothko once stated, “A painting is not a picture of an experience, but is the experience.”

Description

When asked to explain the aims of his art, Rothko famously answered, "I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions - tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on. . . ." Most of the artist's mature works feature diffuse areas of color appearing to float against a background of different hue. A painstaking craftsperson, Rothko typically applied several layers of diluted paint to each canvas, sometimes rubbing the wet surfaces gently with cloths, in order to achieve his ethereal effects.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed on back of canvas: "Mark Rothko 1962 #2"

Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 203 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art. Art of the Twentieth Century in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Dept. of Art History & Education, CMA, 1969. Mentioned: p. 4 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 250 archive.org
Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 133, no. 44
Anfam, David. Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas: Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. Reproduced: p. 571, no. 718
Exhibition history

Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).

Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966).

Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.239