Untitled [verso] 

This ‘Untitled [verso]’ work was made with paint on paper by Mark Rothko, though we are not sure exactly when. Rothko was part of a movement known as Abstract Expressionism that emerged in post-war America. Often monumental in scale, these works were rooted in the personal and were about the direct expression of emotion. The art world was changing. The rise of museums and galleries in America created new spaces for art to be seen and sold. Artists became celebrities, but they were also shaped by these new institutions. Consider the title ‘Untitled’. What does it mean to leave a work unnamed? Is it an expression of freedom, or does it reflect a kind of detachment from society? As historians, we look at Rothko's life, his place in the New York art scene, and the writings of critics at the time. This helps us to understand how the social and institutional context shaped Rothko's art, and how his art, in turn, reflected and challenged the world around him.