Oil on canvas, stretched and framed. Featuring an abstract expressionist composition. Signed ROTHKO on the lower left corner. Stamped illegibly in teal-blue on verso. Attributed to Mark Rothko (1903-1970, American). 60 x 45 cm (23.6 x 17.7 inches). Framed size: 65 x 50 cm (25.5 x 19.7 inches). PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was an American painter known for his abstract canvases featuring blocks of glowing color. The work Orange and Yellow (1956), is a hallmark example of Rothko’s method of employing thin washes of oil paint to create luminosity. “Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,” he once mused. “And the only means of making concrete the purpose of its varied quickness and stillness.” Born Marcus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz on September 25, 1903 in Daugavpils, Lativia, in 1913 he and his family emigrated to the United States to escape persecution. Rothko attended Yale University on a scholarship for only a year before dropping out and relocating to New York. Here, he studied under Max Weber and adopted the flattened volumes and rich colors he saw in the paintings of Milton Avery. During this period, Rothko produced a number of figure paintings and interiors. By the late 1940s, Rothko had shifted into nonobjective abstraction, creating masses of pure color instead of figures in space. Commissioned in 1964 by the Houston art collectors John and Dominique de Menil, Rothko created the Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational chapel filled with many of his paintings. Deeply depressed throughout much of his life, the artist committed suicide at the age of 66, on February 25, 1970 in New York, NY. Today, Rothko’s works can be found in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.

All lots that do not carry established documented provenance nor any past record of auction history record are described in the catalog as attributed .

All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms:

Signed [Artist Name] : In cases in which the signature is legible in the lot, this work is described as-is with no attributions given.

By [Artist Name] : The work is by the artist.

Attributed to [Artist Name] : The work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.

In the manner of [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

Circle of [Artist Name] : A work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

Follower of [Artist Name]: A work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).

American, 19th century : This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).