The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2024

No. 2 (Red Maroons)

No. 2 (Red Maroons)

1962
(American, 1903–1970)
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.)
© 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Did You Know?

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 answered, “I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on. . . .” Most of his mature works feature diffuse areas of color appearing to float against a background of a different hue. Rothko typically applied several layers of diluted paint to each canvas, sometimes rubbing the wet surfaces with cloths to achieve his ethereal effects. Born Marcus Rothkowitz, the artist altered his name in 1940, partly in response to antisemitism. He and fellow Jewish artists—including Lee Krasner, Morris Louis, and Louise Nevelson, all represented in this gallery—made major contributions toward the development of American abstract art during the mid-1900s.
  • 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
  • Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987).
    Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966).
    Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=No. 2 (Red Maroons)|url=false|author=Mark Rothko|year=1962|access-date=25 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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