- No. 14 (Painting)
Explore Further
By 1949 Mark Rothko had arrived at his signature Abstract style. Rothko used layers of thinned paint, soaked into the canvas, to create nuances of tone that gradually emerged as ethereal, floating rectangles of color. In contrast to the Action Painters, he worked to eliminate the gestural line, creating instead vast areas of color to envelop the viewer.
Rothko viewed color as a means to express emotions, a medium through which paint and canvas could be transformed into the sublime. In this painting, the close hues of the dark colors are punctuated by the vibrant drama of the red band on top. The subtle shifts of color between the lower two rectangular forms and the dark ground create a quiet luminosity that is both majestic and tragic. The shimmering and flickering light, along with the pulsating colors that alternately project and recede, offer an impression of continual movement.
ProvenanceThe artist; [Bernard J. Reis and Company, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1967.
Exhibition History"Selections and Accessions," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 9–April 2, 1967.
"Signals in the Sixties," Honolulu Academy of Art, October 3–November 10, 1968.
"Mark Rothko: A Retrospective," Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 26, 1978–January 14, 1979; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 8–April 1, 1979; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, April 25–June 10, 1979; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, July 3–September 26, 1979. (LN:78.12).
"Abstract Expressionism: The Critical Developments," Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, September 19–November 29, 1987. (LN:87.10).
"Direction and Diversity: Twentieth Century Art in the Museum Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 21–September 3, 1988.
"Art at Midcentury: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 13–September 3, 2001.
"Color Field: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 28–August 4, 2002.
"Color into Light: Selections from the MFAH Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 13, 2008–March 22, 2009.
"Mark Rothko: A Retrospective," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 20, 2015–January 24, 2016.
"Mark Rothko," Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France, October 18, 2023–April 2, 2024. (OL.1536)
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.