Black and Red, Galerie Lelong, 1990
April 27, 2022
No.6 (Violet, Green, & Red)
Mark Rothko
£165
Framed print
Grey ash frame with window mount, 83 x 54 cm
Mark Rothko was an American abstract artist of Latvian Jewish descent, best known for his abstract expressionist paintings. Rothko produced ‘No.6 (Violet Green & Red) in 1951. This piece was part of his colour field paintings, a series of canvases characterised by their large fields of flat solid colour which created areas of unbroken surface and a flat plane.
All images contained on this website are copyrighted property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
The Artist
Mark Rothko
September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970
Mark Rothko, born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, was an American abstract painter of Latvian Jewish descent. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular regions of color, which he produced from 1949 to 1970.
Although Rothko did not personally subscribe to any one school, he is associated with the American Abstract Expressionist movement of modern art. Originally emigrating to Portland, Oregon from Russia with his family, Rothko later moved to New York City where his youthful period of artistic production dealt primarily with urban scenery. In response to World War II, Rothko's art entered a transitional phase during the 1940s, where he experimented with mythological themes and Surrealism to express tragedy. Toward the end of the decade Rothko painted canvases with regions of pure color which he further abstracted into rectangular color forms, the idiom he would use for the rest of his life.
In his later career, Rothko executed several canvases for three different mural projects. The Seagram murals were to have decorated the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram Building, but Rothko eventually grew disgusted with the idea that his paintings would be decorative objects for wealthy diners and refunded the lucrative commission, donating the paintings to museums including the Tate Modern. The Harvard Mural series was gifted to a dining room in Harvard's Holyoke Center (now Smith Campus Center); their colors faded badly over time due to Rothko's use of the pigment Lithol Red together with regular sunlight exposure. The Harvard series has since been restored using a special lighting technique. Rothko contributed 14 canvases to a permanent installation at the Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas.
Although Rothko lived modestly for much of his life, the resale value of his paintings grew tremendously in the decades following his suicide in 1970.
The Print
When it comes to Mark Rothko, where do you start? Our advice is simply to, ‘jump in’!
This small print of No.6, at a framed size of 83 x 54 cm (the original oil on canvas measured 230 x 137 cm) can be appreciated in a number of ways. It is part of Rothko’s colour field series and when stared at becomes mesmerising, sucking you into its… is that an horizon? Or, it’s just confusing, too simple, yet interesting? Perhaps..? Perhaps not..?
The rather dull, catalogue-like, factual, descriptive name of this painting — No.6 (Violet, Green & Red) — should be well-known to everyone, like the price of a top footballer, or a Bugatti Veyron, or anything on the top line behind the bar of your local. But it’s not.
You’re looking at a print of one of the most expensive paintings ever sold — that we know of. Bought by a Russian billionaire in 2014, the price he reputedly paid means Rothko beats Rembrant, but not Pollock!
Indeed, the sale was mired in scandal — the infamous Bouvier Affair.
And if you’re wondering how much the original painting sold for, back in 2014, allow us to borrow some of the enigmatic nature of Rothko's images. How about we tell you that the price of this print is less than a millionth of the original?
Beautifully reproduced, framed and mounted by King & McGaw, what this piece lacks in size or is unable to transmit from the original, it replaces with sheer interest, a persistent, deep fascination, and a unique and engaging presence. You’ll find yourself staring at it… as it stares back at you.
Item data
Mount: Window mount
Frame: Grey ash
Framed dimensions: 83 x 54 cm
Image area dimensions: 71 x 42 cm
| Dimensions | 83 × 54 cm |
|---|
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Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper. This premium paper made on a traditional cylinder mould machine by St Cuthbert’s Mill in Somerset where they have been making fine papers on the same site since the 1700’s. They are the only commercial paper mill in England to still use this paper-making process. Mould made paper combines the consistent quality of machine made papers, but with the individual character of handmade papers. A specialist coater adds an ink receptive coating layer, allowing us to print perfectly to conservation standards.
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Actual product may differ slightly to image above. Some prints contain writing in the border area.©/®/™ 2022 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
