One of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Mark Rothko (19031970) created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting over the course of his career. Rothko also wrote a number of essays and critical reviews during his lifetime, adding his thoughtful, intelligent, and opinionated voice to the debates of the contemporary art world. Although the artist never published a book of his varied and complex views, his heirs indicate that he occasionally spoke of the existence of such a manuscript to friends and colleagues. Stored in a New York City warehouse since the artist's death more than thirty years ago, this extraordinary manuscript, titledThe Artist's Reality,is now being published for the first time. Probably written around 194041, this revelatory book discusses Rothko's ideas on the modern art world, art history, myth, beauty, the challenges of being an artist in society, the true nature of "American art," and much more.The Artist's Realityalsoincludes an introduction by Christopher Rothko, the artist's son, who describes the discovery of the manuscript and the complicated and fascinating process of bringing the manuscript to publication. The introduction is illustrated with a small selection of relevant examples of the artist's own work as well as with reproductions of pages from the actual manuscript. The Artist's Realitywillbe a classic text for years to come, offering insight into both the work and the artistic philosophies of this great painter.

Mark Rothko was born in Russia and came to the United States with his family in 1913. A major figure in New York’s Abstract Expressionist movement, he has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Guggenheim Museum, and other major museums around the world. Christopher Rothko is a writer and psychologist and is actively involved in managing the Rothko legacy. He lives in New York City.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Christopher Rothko

The Artist's Dilemma

(5)

Art as a Natural Biological Function

(3)

Art as a Form of Action

(5)

The Integrity of the Plastic Process

(5)

Art, Reality, and Sensuality

(3)

Particularization and Generalization

(8)

Generalization Since the Renaissance

(4)

Emotional and Dramatic Impressionism

(4)

Objective Impressionism

(5)

Plasticity

(13)

Space

(6)

Beauty

(11)

Naturalism

(3)

Subject and Subject Matter

(15)

The Myth

(11)

The Attempted Myth of Today

102

(3)

Primitive Civilizations' Influence on Modern Art

105

(4)

Modern Art

109

(4)

Primitivism

113

(4)

Indigenous Art

117

(13)

Index

130

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