Three Figures Wearing Hats 

Mark Rothko created "Three Figures Wearing Hats" with watercolor and graphite on paper. This work comes from a period when Rothko, an immigrant to the USA from Russia, was exploring the urban environment and the figure. It invites us to consider the social conditions that shaped his early artistic production. Look at the characters in the image. Are they workers? Intellectuals? And how might their dress codes reflect a specific moment in early 20th century America? To understand Rothko, we need to consider the cultural institutions, such as museums and galleries, that promoted abstract expressionism. Did the artist critique these institutions? Was he trying to challenge social norms through his work? To fully understand the work, one might research immigration patterns, the history of fashion, or the cultural politics of the time. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.