Mark Rothko: A Biography

By James E.B. Breslin

Book Overview

The definitive biography of one of the most-loved artists of the twentieth century, a book the New York Times called "the best life of an American painter yet written"

A book of heroic dimensions, this is the first full-length biography of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century--a man as fascinating, difficult, and compelling as the paintings he produced. Drawing on exclusive access to Mark Rothko's personal papers and over one hundred interviews with artists, patrons, and dealers, James Breslin tells the story of a life in art--the personal costs and professional triumphs, the convergence of genius and ego, the clash of culture and commerce. Breslin offers us not only an enticing look at Rothko as a person, but delivers a lush, in-depth portrait of the New York art scene of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s--the world of Abstract Expressionism, of Pollock, Rothko, de Kooning, and Klein, which would influence artists for generations to come.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226074056
• ISBN13: 9780226074054
• Release Date: November 1993
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 707 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.5" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the best books on art let alone Rothko

Only a few biographies of artists are any good. A Giacometti Portrait by James Lord and Picasso by John Richardson and Jackson Pollock by Steven Naifeh come to mind. After reading this excellent biography I must place it with these great books. I am tired of reading art critics who obscure great art rather than illuminate it. This work opens up to the layman in simple and clear writing the beauty and complexity of this modern artist in his struggle to create meaningful and profound art. In this post modernist world such ambitions are scoffed at. Irony is easy but to be profound is the most dangerous thing an artist can attempt. He risks being pompous and bombastic. But Rothko avoids these pitfalls and in the process has become one of our greatest artists. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did. Books like this are rare. Get it.

YIKES ITS 700 PAGES LONG !!!!

I wasnt that interested in his childhood..its the adult fired from brooklyn college unable to sell many paintings id like to know more about!!!! However this is the book to read if you want to know the facts of his life.

Read This Book

I am a painter, an art professor, and a reader of biographies. I couldnt put this book down. Breslin did a magnificent job of getting inside the psyche of Rothko as a man, and as an artist. The paragraphs that describe the way in which Rothko created one of his paintings is absolutely inspired....I had goose-bumps reading it, because it seemed as if Breslin,unlike many writers who say they have observed artists, actually understood the process of creation and the passion behind it. I have never written a fan letter to a writer, but I began one to Mr.Breslin. Imagine my distress and sorrow when I read the next day in the paper that he had passed away! But this book lives as a testament to his thorough research and love of the subject. Get this book and read it....if you love art, artists, or scholarship,you will not be disappointed.

For Rothko, the best a book can do

No book can do Mark Rothko justice. He painted on largecanvases. To know him is to confront his original workon the wall before you. Find your distance, 10, 15,maybe 30 feet back. Yet to make sense of hiscolored rectangles tearing themselves apart in fission,as well as his earlier, quite different work, somebackground helps. Breslin's book will become the standard reference, butnot perhaps the starting point. He writes engrossingly,but the 558 pages of text, I fear, will discourage thecasual reader (who might do well to read RobertHughes's paragraphs in American Visions).Still, for the motivated reader, James Breslin's bio isawesome. The Latvian Jew, charity student atantisemitic Yale in the early 20s, uncomfortable andsmarter than most there, comes alive, as does his lovefor children and their art, as well as his tormentedfirst marriage to a wife commercially successful duringthe Great Depression making jewelry that sold. Rothkohad higher ambitions: fine art spelled with a capital"A". As Breslin relates, discomfort never disappeared.Success and recognition did not go over well withthis self-described anarchist who, as a Portlandteenager, enthusiastically took in lectures by EmmaGoldman. Overall, Breslin provides a biographical andhistorical foundation with which to understand MarkRothko's painting. I am grateful for that.Finally, of the many biographies I've read, James EBBreslin's stands out for another reason: in hisAfterword, he turns from Rothko to himself andaddresses his own motivations and challenges in writingthe biography. Biographies are never "objective", so itmakes sense that a biographer might address his ownmotivations. In the descriptions of the dangers ofdoing research in Rothko's birthplace of Dvinsk, ininterviewing art historian Clement Greenberg, Rothkoreappears again, this time indirectly, one stepremoved. That Breslin can bring Rothko alive in thesedifferent contexts is testament to the enduring valueof this long, challenging biography.

Exhaustive, too easy to put down.

If you really want to know Rothko, read Dore Ashton. Breslin tends to simplify things and I don't think that he really loves Rothko or has communicated with the paintings. Only for die-hard Rothkoites like me.