Mark Rothko, born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz, was a Latvian-American abstract painter.

One of the preeminent artists of his generation, Mark Rothko is closely identified with the New York school, a circle of painters that emerged during the 1940s as a new collective voice in American art. During a career that spanned five decades, he created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting.

Rothko's work is characterised by rigorous attention to formal elements such as color, shape, balance, depth, composition, and scale; yet, he refused to consider his paintings solely in these terms. He explained: "It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well-painted. This is the essence of academicism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing." (Source: National Gallery of Art)