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Archaic Idyll / Archaic Idol

Archaic Idyll / Archaic Idol
157.1978.a
Date
c. 1945
Medium
Watercolor, ink, scrubbing, scraping
Support
Watercolor paper
Dimensions
21 7/8 x 30 in. (55.6 x 76.2 cm)
Inscription
Lower left in red ink: MARK ROTHKO
Collection
The Museum of Modern Art, The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, 157.1978.a. © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko
Other Side
[Untitled]
[Untitled]
1944/1945
157.1978.b
Provenance
Exhibitions
Mark Rothko Paintings, Art of This Century, January 9 – February 4, 1945.
Mark Rothko: Exhibition of Watercolors, Mortimer Brandt Gallery, New York, April 22 – May 4, 1946, no. 3, as Archaic Idyll.
A Selection of Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolors from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet, New York Cultural Center (Fairleigh Dickinson University), December 9, 1969 – January 25, 1970, cat. 118, as Archaic Idol.
A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection in the Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Modern Art, April 8, 1978 – July 1, 1979, cat. 158, as Archaic Idol.
A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, August – October, 1978, cat. 158, as Archaic Idol.
A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, Art Museum of South Texas, November 14 – December 31, 1978, cat. 158, as Archaic Idol.
A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, January 25 – March 4, 1979, cat. 158, as Archaic Idol.
A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Caracas, March 19 – April 29, 1979, cat. 158, as Archaic Idol.
American Abstract Expressionists, Fruitmarket Gallery, August 13 – September 12, 1981, cat. 50, as Archaic Idol.
A Century of Modern Drawing from the Museum of Modern Art, New York, British Museum, June 9 – September 12, 1982, cat. 172, as Archaic Idol.
The Modern Drawing: 100 Works on Paper, The Museum of Modern Art, October 29, 1983 – January 3, 1984, as Archaic Idol.
Drawing since 1940, The Museum of Modern Art, June 25 – October 13, 1987, as Archaic Idol.
Watercolors: Selections from the Permanent Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, March 16 – May 30, 1989, as Archaic Idol.
Art of the Forties, The Museum of Modern Art, February 24 – April 30, 1991, as Archaic Idol.
A Century of American Drawings: From the Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, May 23 – September 17, 1996, as Archaic Idol.
Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art, May 3 – August 16, 1998, cat. 22, as Archaic Idol.
Mark Rothko, Whitney Museum of American Art, September 17 – November 29, 1998, cat. 22, as Archaic Idol.
Drawing from the Modern, 1880–1945, The Museum of Modern Art, November 20, 2004 – March 7, 2005, as Archaic Idol.
Master Drawings from the Museum of Modern Art: Cézanne to Pollock, Shanghai Museum, April 6 – June 11, 2006, as Archaic Idol.
The Modern Myth: Drawing Mythologies in Modern Times, The Museum of Modern Art, March 10 – August 30, 2010, as Archaic Idol.
Abstract Expressionist New York: Ideas not Theories: Artists and The Club, 1942–1962, The Museum of Modern Art, September 28, 2010 – February 28, 2011, as Archaic Idol.
Gifted: Collectors and Drawings at MoMA, 1929–1983, The Museum of Modern Art, October 19, 2011 – February 12, 2012.
References
Rothko, Mark. "The Romantics Were Prompted." Possibilities I (Winter 1947/1948): 90 (b/w).
Collier, Oscar. "Mark Rothko." The New Iconograph 4 (Fall 1947): 43 (b/w) [reproduced upside down].
Soby, James Thrall. Contemporary Painters. New York, 1948: 79, 78 (b/w).
Fermigier, André. "Paris New York 40-45." Art de France 4 (1964): 229.
Ruggles, Marian G. A Selection of Drawings, Pastels and Watercolors from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet. New York Cultural Center, New York, 1970: cat. 118 (b/w).
Lieberman, William S. A Treasury of Modern Drawing: The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1978: 13, 117, 80 (b/w).
The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. American Abstract Expressionists. City Art Centre and Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1981: no. 50.
Rose, Bernice. A Century of Modern Drawing from the Museum of Modern Art, New York. British Museum, London, 1982: 51, fig. 94 (b/w).
Seitz, William C. Abstract Expressionist Painting in America. National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1983: cat. 202 (b/w).
Elderfield, John. The Modern Drawing: 100 Works on Paper from The Museum of Modern Art. Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1983: 182, 183 (color).
Castleman, Riva. Art of the Forties. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1991: 142, 120 (b/w).
Waldman, Diane. Mark Rothko in New York. New York, 1994: plate 13 (color).
Chan, Mary, Kathleen Curry and Christina Houstian. A Century of American Drawing: From the Collection. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1996: n.p.
Weiss, Jeffrey, ed. Mark Rothko. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998: cat. 22 (color).
Sozanski, Edward J. “Gauging Rothko's Overall Stature as a Modern Master.” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 19, 1998: F12.
Hauptman, Jodi. Drawing from the Modern, 1880-1945. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2005: 201, plate 138 (color).
Hauptman, Jodi. Master Drawings from the Museum of Modern Art: Cézanne to Pollock. The Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2006: 269, plate 136 (color).
Temkin, Ann. Abstract Expressionism at The Museum of Modern Art: Selections from the Collection. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010: 121, plate 12 (color).
Cohen-Solal, Annie. Mark Rothko. Arles, France, 2013: 108.
Cohen-Solal, Annie. Mark Rothko: Toward the Light in the Chapel. New Haven, CT, 2015: 89.
Anfam, David, ed. Abstract Expressionism. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2016: 94.
Davidson, Susan. "Feminism for the Most Masculine: How Two Women Launched an Art Market." In Abstract Expressionism, edited by David Anfam. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2016: 94.
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