The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC celebrates the centenary of Mark Rothko by displaying nine of his murals in its East Building.
Dating from the late 1950s and early 1960s, the paintings relate to two commissions, the Seagram murals and the Harvard murals.
The Seagram commission, created for the Seagram building in New York City but never installed, was Rothko's first attempt to apply his work to a prescribed setting. For this commission, he changed his classic format to create works that recall frame-like portals. These expansive, commanding canvases also reflect the darkening of his palette. In addition to the National Gallery's paintings, the installation includes No. 9 (White and Black on Wine) (1958), now thought to belong to the initial planning stage of the Seagram mural commission.
The exhibition also includes a canvas sketch for the Harvard mural sequence, with similar compositional motif in colors of deep maroon and blood red.
The Seagram commission, created for the Seagram building in New York City but never installed, was Rothko's first attempt to apply his work to a prescribed setting. For this commission, he changed his classic format to create works that recall frame-like portals. These expansive, commanding canvases also reflect the darkening of his palette. In addition to the National Gallery's paintings, the installation includes No. 9 (White and Black on Wine) (1958), now thought to belong to the initial planning stage of the Seagram mural commission.
The exhibition also includes a canvas sketch for the Harvard mural sequence, with similar compositional motif in colors of deep maroon and blood red.
