Mark Rothko was a Latvian-born American abstract expressionist oil painter. Some of Rothko's famous paintings included "Orange and Yellow", "Violet, Green, Red" and "White over Red". Like other expressionists, Rothko found his simple abstract style to offer greater freedom and originality as he sought to forge his own path during an exciting period of New York art. He even compared modern artists' style to those of children. Rothko found most inspiration in the use of color, similarly to impressionists, and prefered to spend time matching color sets to including great detail in his art. Vault is proud to offer Rothko's paintings here, and recommends "Orange and Yellow" as the ideal choice. We have a great selection of Rothko's best paintings below, so feel free to take a look. Further information on Rothko paintings can be found at the bottom of this page, underneath our great selection of Mark Rothko paintings which are ready to order as high quality reproductions.

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The settlement of his estate became the subject of the famous Rothko Case. In early November, 2005, Rothko's 1953 oil on canvas painting, Homage to Matisse, broke the record selling price of any post-war painting at a public auction, at U.S. $22.5 million dollars. In May 2007, Rothko's 1950 painting White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose), broke this record again, selling at $72.8 million dollars at Sotheby's New York. The painting was sold by philanthropist David Rockefeller, who attended the auction. A previously unpublished manuscript by Rothko about his philosophies on art, entitled The Artist's Reality, has been edited by his son, Christopher Rothko, and was published by Yale University Press in 2006. 'Red', a play based on Rothko, written by John Logan, is due to open at the Donmar Warehouse, London, on December 3 2009. It will be directed by the Donmar's Artistic Director Michael Grandage.

Mark Rothko paintings are perhaps best known for his late period. Many of the abstract expressionists exhibited pretensions for something approximating a spiritual experience, or at least an experience that exceeded the boundaries of the purely aesthetic. In later years, Rothko would do much to promote this spiritual aspect of his artwork, a sentiment that would culminate in the construction of the Rothko Chapel. Many of the "multiforms" and early signature paintings display an affinity for bright, vibrant colors, particularly reds and yellows, expressing energy and ecstasy. By the mid 1950’s however, close to a decade before the completion of the first "multiforms," Rothko began to employ dark blues and greens; for many critics of his work this shift in colors was representative of a growing darkness within Rothko’s personal life.

The general method for these paintings was to apply a thin layer of binder mixed with pigment directly onto uncoated and untreated canvas, and to paint significantly thinned oils directly onto this layer, creating a dense mixture of overlapping colors and shapes. His brush strokes were fast and light, a method he would continue to use until his death. His increasing adeptness at this method is apparent in the paintings completed for the Chapel. With a total lack of figurative representation, what drama there is to be found in a late Rothko is in the contrast of colors, radiating, as it were, against one another. His paintings can then be likened to a sort of fugal arrangement: each variation counterpoised against one another, yet all existing within one architectonic structure.

Rothko used several original techniques that he tried to keep secret even from his assistants. Electron microscopy and ultraviolet analysis conducted by the MOLAB showed that he employed natural substances such as egg and glue, as well as artificial materials including acrylic resins, phenol formaldehyde, modified alkyd, and others. One of his objectives was to make the various layers of the painting dry quickly, without mixing of colors, such that he could soon create new layers on top of the earlier ones.