Seated Man in Coat and Hat, Legs and Hands Crossed 

Mark Rothko made this simple ink drawing, *Seated Man in Coat and Hat, Legs and Hands Crossed*, on paper. Though Rothko is best known for his color field paintings, in his early career he created figurative work influenced by expressionism and the social realism of the 1930s. Here, the seated man's posture and clothing hint at a narrative of someone perhaps contemplative, burdened, or simply passing time. The cross-hatching around his face may imply the stubble of a beard but also a sense of worry. Given Rothko's own experience as an immigrant escaping political turmoil in Russia, we might consider how this drawing reflects themes of identity, displacement, and the silent stories of ordinary people navigating complex social landscapes. The man's anonymity invites us to project our own emotions and experiences onto him, reflecting the universality of human emotion, a theme that would follow Rothko throughout his artistic career.