1903-1970. Russian-born US painter, an
Abstract Expressionist and a pioneer of
Colour Field painting (abstract, dominated by
areas of unmodulated, strong colour). Rothko
produced several series of paintings in the
1950s and 1960s, including one at Harvard
University; one in the Tate Gallery, London;
and one for a chapel in Houston, Texas,
1967-69. He received his only training at New
York City's Art Students League. During the
1930s he painted for the Federal Arts Project
and, with Adolph Gottlieb, founded the
expressionist group The Ten. After his
suicide 1970, his estate, consisting
primarily of a huge number of his paintings,
became the subject of a long legal battle.