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Description: Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas—Catalogue Raisonné
Contrary to the impression given by the design of most publications that feature Rothko’s work, his paintings vary considerably in size...
PublisherNational Gallery of Art
PublisherYale University Press
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Guide to the Catalogue Raisonné
Scope and format
The catalogue entries comprise paintings on canvas and rigid board (generically defined as “hardboard” and classified under the rubric of “panels”). Works on paper are excluded; they are planned for coverage in subsequent volumes of the catalogue raisonné project. All paintings are reproduced in color, except for some that are lost and known only from black-and-white photographs.
Abbreviations
The word “inventory” used throughout the catalogue entries refers to the 1968–69 inventory of Rothko’s Estate. A list of abbreviated book and exhibition titles used throughout the present volume is on pp. 677–680. The growing trend to short-form almost all frequently cited exhibitions and publications has been resisted because it requires the reader to refer constantly back and forth while scouring a thicket of abbreviations. Throughout the catalogue, author’s doubt is indicated by a question mark in brackets: “[?]”
Chronology and numbering
In general, works are sequenced in chronological order. When a special connection obtains between certain paintings, however, they have been grouped together in favor of modifying any conjectural absolute chronological accuracy. For example, all the Seagram murals are presented as a continuous series, even though their actual production may have been interspersed with other canvases done in 1958–59. In this respect, one consideration has been to take into account wherever possible the progressions formed by Rothko’s number-titles: for example, the numbered sequence of canvases (cat. nos. 773781) executed preparatory to the Chapel murals are catalogued in order. The reader should nonetheless be aware that Rothko’s numbering was often inconsistent, and that the number-titles originate from disparate points in time and therefore rarely form a consistent or integral running sequence.
Two-sided works are assigned separate catalogue numbers and indicated (in brackets after their titles) either as recto/versos, or as double-sided compositions when Rothko did not apparently privilege one image over the other. Two canvases that came to light shortly before publication have been set in the main body of the catalogue with “a” placed after the number of the preceding entry thus: 415a, 524a.
Titles
Concerning titles, the priority has again been to aim for accuracy—complex as it may be—rather than spurious clarity. The essential point is that the various titles under which Rothko’s pictures have been known inevitably derive from many different periods and sources. Rothko himself gave different titles to the same work. To elucidate this potentially confusing state of affairs the following principles are used.
First, a signal distinction is made between titles coined in Rothko’s lifetime and posthumous ones. The latter here occur in braces after the main designation of the picture, for example: “UNTITLED {MULTIFORM}.” Secondly, in view of the many untitled early works, basic descriptive titles have been assigned in order to help differentiate and identify them, especially for purposes of future reference. These titles are indicated in brackets, typically thus: “UNTITLED [CIRCUS SCENE].”
Thirdly, of the titles used during Rothko’s lifetime, his own are listed first in the chronological order of their origin and, in the case of multiple titles, separated by an oblique stroke, thus: “No. 2/No. 7/No. 20.” The source for these titles is indicated either under the Inscriptions section of the entry (when Rothko wrote the designation on the actual painting) and/or in parentheses after the exhibition and any accompanying catalogue wherein the title first appeared. Thus “AoC 1945, cat. no. 1 (as Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea)” indicates that the work was first publicly identified by that name in the catalogue to Rothko’s 1945 Art of This Century exhibition. While the format of the number-titles and the spelling of other titles are standardized in the main headings, orthographic variations are preserved in the source citation (one exception is foreign translations which are here re-translated, mostly applying to the German titles of the Zurich 1971 catalogue). Accordingly, for example, works cited in Rothko’s 1957 Houston show catalogue appear as: “Houston 1957 (as #7),” while those in his 1961 Museum of Modern Art retrospective are referenced as in the original catalogue: “MoMA 1961, ill. p. 22 (as No. 2).”
Fourthly, when a work is known by both Rothko’s numerical title and by a further descriptive title used during his lifetime yet not truly to be deemed his own, the former is given precedence while the latter comes in parentheses: “No. 2 (RED MAROONS).” In the absence of a title that is certainly Rothko’s, those that circulated in his lifetime are given in the main header together with any significant historical variants in parentheses (e.g., “GREEN ON BLUE (EARTH GREEN AND WHITE)”), while their sources are indicated elsewhere in the entry in parentheses after the party or exhibition whence they evidently originated, thus: “Sidney Janis Gallery, New York (as Green on Blue)” and “Janis 1958, col. ill. (as Earth-Green and White, 1957).” The same principle applies to source citations for posthumous titles: “Venice 1970, cat. no. 15, col. ill. (as Yellow on Orangey indicates the work was first shown and published under that name in the 1970 Venice exhibition catalogue.
For works never titled by Rothko nor given titles at all during his lifetime, the main header of course remains “UNTITLED.” Alternatively, when lost titles have been restored in the catalogue, this is reflected in the header: “OEDIPUS {UNTITLED} ,” plus a citation in the entry that locates the first occasion when the work was shown or published bereft of its true title or with a wrong one that has entered the literature. Minor erroneous variants are excluded from the header and restricted to a later appearance after the source whence they derive.
Lastly, there is a small class of titles with no nominal source, such as Self-Portrait (cat. no. 82). Most of these either originate with Rothko or are obviously descriptive and have become traditional.
Dates
When a date is uncertain, an oblique is used (“1952/1933”) to denote a possible time of execution between the given years. A single year preceded by “c.” expresses more certainty that the work is assignable to that one year (“c. 1940”). A dash indicates that the date of a work extends over successive years (“1952–53”). Dubious or significant variants of dates proposed in the catalogue are cited parenthetically as they occur in the literature under the Exhibitions and References sections.
Dimensions
A majority of works have been re-measured for the catalogue (with early works, unstretched dimensions take priority since that was their state at the time of cataloging). Dimensions appear first in inches with centimeters in parentheses; height precedes width. For very irregularly shaped works, average dimensions are given.
Rothko Estate numbers
These derive from the inventory and are usually written on the canvas versos. They are cited under the separate Estate Number heading but not repeated under Inscriptions. For recto/verso compositions, they are taken to refer to the later side unless otherwise noted. Works that were in the Rothko Estate but that did not receive standard four- and six-digit inventory numbers have their designations in brackets thus: “[P3].” Certain inventory numbers written on the works lack the normal last two digits after the period, which designate the painting’s presumed year of execution: sometimes the missing numbers were formulated afterwards as lists were compiled. These estate numbers are recorded as inscribed (“4004.”).
Medium
This category includes the support. As mentioned above, works on paper are not catalogued in the present volume, whatever the support to which they are attached. The term “oil on canvas board” specifies a commercially prepared board, whereas “oil on canvas mounted on board” means a canvas transferred to board (likely by Rothko himself), usually after the work was done. Another sub-class are the rigid laminated boards with gesso surfaces that Rothko employed on occasions until around 1940 (here called “oil on gesso board”).
Where no media are mentioned, this presupposes oil on cotton duck canvas; canvas linen is differentiated where known. Other media noted are graphite (pencil) and charcoal. A good reason presents itself for these defining limits. As discussed in the Introduction, Rothko mostly kept to traditional oil-based paint media prior to the late 1940s. Thereafter, the works variously incorporate diverse combinations or layerings of pigment and binding vehicles—including conventional oil-based tube paints, egg—oil emulsion, dry powder pigments, water, turpentine, damar resin and synthetic polymer. Nothing yet suggests that Rothko’s procedures in this respect were consistent or systematic. It is therefore a specious practice (though still common) to list some classic works as “oil on canvas” and others as “mixed media” when no such fine difference is certain to exist. Specific data relating to the media that Rothko used from the late 1940s onward therefore appear only in a few isolated instances: namely, the Chapel-related canvases (where conservation analysis has determined the precise constituents; see cat. no. 785) and the late “Black on Gray” series employing acrylic colors. In all other cases, “mixed media” is the most precise assumption that can reasonably be made.
Inscriptions
When a work bears no relevant verso inscriptions and is not relined, the Inscription field is omitted. Relining is noted when the verso is blank and former inscriptions may have been obscured. The location of verso inscriptions is given according to the quadrant in which the majority of the writing falls (those on the recto are self-evident yet, given that they may be faint or even concealed within the image, the reader must here trust the author’s acuity). Upper and lower cases are differentiated. Information recorded is generally confined to inscriptions likely to be in the artist’s hand. Illegible parts of an inscription are indicated by elisions in brackets, thus: [. . .]. An oblique denotes a line break. Inscriptions on recto/versos are located on the verso according to the correct orientation of the recto image (for example, cat. nos. 303, 341).
Collection
Every effort has been made to give information about the current ownership of works in as updated and accurate a form as possible. Owners who have requested anonymity are listed as “Private Collection” and other particularities of wording may reflect their stipulations; this also applies in the provenance history.
Provenance
All works are deemed to have originated in the collection of the artist. Consignment is indicated by braces, thus: { }. Ownership history is listed in chronological order as reliably as possible in the circumstances, though conflicting accounts from different sources have not been uncommon in the course of research; unexplained gaps in a work’s provenance are indicated by elisions (“[. . .]”) and the year of acquisition or transference is given in parentheses. To have recorded all the movements of works consigned but often not sold over the past three decades would have been an impossible undertaking, especially given the nature of the art trade and its dealings. There are two principal exceptions, besides the data generously provided by the current Rothko dealers, Pace Wildenstein. First, the records kept by the Sidney Janis Gallery have yielded much reliable information regarding consignments and any titles conferred at the time. Secondly, detailed lists of works consigned or sold by the executors of the Rothko Estate to the Marlborough Gallery, Inc., New York, and to Marlborough A.G., Liechtenstein, and in the main eventually restored to the Estate by order of the court, enable these movements to be tracked (though information relating to bogus sales has been avoided or kept to a minimum to preclude a still more intricate history). A proportion of the Estate (and the Estate of Mary Alice Rothko) thence passed to the newly re-formed Mark Rothko Foundation and the collections of Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko. This passage has also been recorded in the provenance history. Lastly, joint ownership and instances where a work was acquired by one branch of a gallery then sold by another are indicated, where known, by an oblique between the respective parties.
Exhibitions
Venues are listed first, followed by the exhibition’s title, dates, additional venues and any catalogue information. When no accompanying catalogue or checklist was published this is indicated as: “no cat.” If there was a catalogue but the work in question was not illustrated, discussed or assigned a catalogue number, no catalogue data are given. Works catalogued but not shown are designated by “(not shown)” in conjunction with the name of the city when multiple venues are involved; works shown but not catalogued at all are tagged “not in cat.” Illustrations in such publications are referenced in this section alone, except for works never meant to be part of a show (these appear under References). A black-and-white reproduction is recorded as “ill.” and color as “col. ill.”
For exhibitions (and any accompanying publication) given in abbreviated form, further information features in the List of Abbreviations. Names of museums and other institutions appear in historic form—that is, as they existed at the time of the reference. For example, “The Pace Gallery” is distinguished from the present “Pace Wildenstein” and “Sotheby’s Parke Bernet” from the current “Sotheby’s.” Locations of museums are not repeated when the city name occurs as part of its title, except in the more obscure foreign-language citations.
A question mark in brackets at the end of an exhibition reference expresses doubt as to whether a work was included. However, a question mark in brackets and within parentheses after a title reference means that although the work was shown, the title accorded it is uncertain. In both the Exhibitions and References sections, every attempt has been made to cite inverted, reversed or wrongly captioned images in order to clarify the confusion that in general has tended in this respect to accumulate around Rothko’s works. Nonetheless, the reader will do well to recall—here as elsewhere—that sometimes the only clear option is to be content with charting irredeemably unclear situations.
References
These are given in chronological order, books and exhibition catalogues appearing before articles. Within a single year, articles are listed alphabetically by author or, in the case of anonymous texts, by title. Page numbers for reproductions are cited. When there is no pagination—as is the case with many exhibition catalogues—page numbers are simply eliminated and replaced by the illustration number, if one exists. Places of publication for lesser-known and non-U.S. newspapers and periodicals are given parenthetically at the first citation, and are used when the city does not appear as part of the title or for the most obscure locations. For publications with multiple authors, names of the first two authors are followed by “et al.” For multiple editions, the earliest are cited whenever bibliographical research has enabled this.
Published commentary is referenced in this section (and, for catalogues, under Exhibitions) by the word “comm.” As a rule of thumb, such citations are kept to historic, pertinent or substantive textual commentary. Here no absolute criterion can be claimed, but restraint has been necessary since the plethora of writing on Rothko would otherwise have overloaded the already considerable weight of references in the entries. The same proviso has meant that page numbers are not given for commentary within a book (for articles the page number[s] of the complete text alone appears). On the one hand, citing such page numbers for every mention of a painting would create a numerical morass. On the other hand, it is assumed readers can readily scan through articles themselves to deduce what is needed for their own purposes and, moreover, that it is an easy matter to consult the indices which, in most major Rothko books, provide a quick key to the discussion of individual works.
Note
In response to the wishes of Rothko’s heirs, explanatory remarks in the catalogue are kept to a minimum. Occasionally, specific issues are clarified under the heading Note. Extensive discussion of individual works is confined to the introductory essay.
Guide to the Catalogue Raisonné
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