About Rothko

by Dore Ashton

Book Overview

As the Washington Post says, "Dore Ashton brings the reader to the very core of Mark Rothko's art." She draws on her countless interviews with the artist--giving little credence to the false mythology surrounding his work--to take us to the heart of Rothko's painting, showing its derivation from his reading, travel, and thought.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306812649
• ISBN13: 9780306812644
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

definitive

The definitive book on Mark Rothko's work, by one of his closest friends. Ashton gets as close as she can to a very elusive, contradictory person. The book requires the same kind of sublime imagination that Rothko's paintings - his "children," as he often called them - require. Those without soul should pass this book by.

Ashton's cryptic writing mirrors Rothko's mystery

I read the book in the eighties, when it was published-- I was attracted to the great photo of Rothko on the cover-- the book is a loving Rothko-like homage--cryptic, deep, serious-- the lack of irony is sometimes hard to take-- but adds a sense of the compelling-- I found myself reflecting upon it-- as one might reflect upon one of the paintings-- Ashton obviously loved her subject-- oh, she describes her meetings with Rothko-- in his later, financially secure period eating in an upper east side chinese restaurant-- a delight.