Mark Rothko: Paintings On Paper

Exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 19 November 2023 - 31 March 2024;
at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, 16 May - 22 September 2024

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is best known for his imposing abstract paintings on canvas; joy, despair, ecstasy and tragedy are all themes he sought to express in his work. Rothko also produced over 1,000 paintings on paper during his career. The artist regarded these works not as preliminary studies, but as finished paintings in their own right.

This exhibition catalogue brings together nearly one hundred of Rothko's rarely exhibited paintings on paper. Drawing on the extensive research carried out by Adam Greenhalgh and his team for the catalogue raisonné of Rothko's works on paper, the book offers a new appreciation of a little-known facet of the artist's practice.