Born Marcus Rothkowitz (1903-1970) in Dvinsk, Russia, the artist immigrated to the United States with his family in 1913 and settled in Portland, Oregon. After attending Yale University from 1921-23, Rothko moved to New York and intermittently attended classes at the Art Students League.
Rothko's earliest work, Expressionist landscapes and still lifes, show the influence of artist Milton Avery whom Rothko befriended shortly after arriving in New York. From 1935 to 1940 the artist was associated with The Ten, a group of American Expressionists including Adolph Gottlieb who exhibited together in New York and Paris. During the 1940s, Rothko began...
