The first publication dedicated exclusively to Mark Rothko’s art\nduring the critical formative period of the 1940s. Examining the\ndevelopment and artistic exploration of one of the greatest artists\nof the twentieth century, this unprecedented volume presents the\nworks of American artist Mark Rothko from the 1940s, a time when\nhis most essential development as a painter occurred, dramatically\nand in a very compact space of time.During this period, Rothko\nmoved from expressive figurative and surrealist canvases to more\nabstract multiform subjects and finally to his signature\nabstractions—luminous rectangles of color suspended in space.\nRichly illustrated with works by Rothko and his contemporaries, and\nwith essays by prominent Rothko scholars, this important new book\ndeepens our understanding of Rothko’s art during this vital period,\nand that of the mature works that emerged from it.

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