Mark Rothko, an abstract expressionist painter regarded as one of the outstanding artists of his generation, died here yesterday of self-inflicted wounds at the age of 66. Mr. Rothko was reported to have been despondent because of poor health. The artist was born in Russia–his name was Marcus Rothkovitch–and immigrated to the United States with his father, a pharmacist, in 1913, settling in Portland, Ore. He attended Yale University and studied art at the New York Art Students League. His first works were exhibited here in 1929. But it wasn’t until the 1940s that he was widely recognized. He was one of the pioneers of the abstract expressionism school of art. Mr. Rothko taught art for most of his life. From 1929 to 1952 he was art teacher at the Center Academy, a Hebrew day school of the Brooklyn Jewish Center.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.