Abstract Composition in Black, Brown, and Orange

c. 1944/1946 · Drawing

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Abstract Composition in Black, Brown, and Orange” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 11 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

Details

Accession number: 1986.43.185

What it shows

Non-representational

In the catalog

Drawings & watercolors Watercolour Modernism 20th century American

Sources

National Gallery of Art
Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder

In the life of Mark Rothko

The whole life

1942
The Rothko–Gottlieb manifesto after the Macy’s show
New paintings were shown at a 1942 exhibition at Macy’s department store; answering a negative review in The New York Times, Rothko and Gottlieb issued a manifesto written mainly by Rothko, declaring themselves for the simple expression of the complex thought, for the large shape and for flat forms that destroy illusion and reveal truth.
1943
Berkeley: friendship with Clyfford Still
Hoping a change of scenery would help, Rothko returned to Portland and then travelled to Berkeley, where he met Clyfford Still and the two became close friends; Still’s deeply abstract paintings are thought to have influenced Rothko’s later work.
13 June 1943
Separation from Edith Sachar and depression
On 13 June 1943 Rothko and Edith Sachar separated again, and the divorce (1944) left him depressed for a long time.
1944–1945
Mell Beistle: meeting and marriage
Rothko met the book illustrator Mary Alice “Mell” Beistle in 1944 and married her in early 1945.
1946
The first Rothko in a museum collection
The Whitney Museum, which included Rothko’s surrealist works in its annual exhibition from 1943 to 1950, acquired Baptismal Scene (1945) in 1946: the first of his works to enter a museum collection, a key milestone in his career.
October 1948
Rothko’s mother dies
Rothko’s mother, Kate, died in October 1948; the discovery of his definitive form came at a period of great distress.