Untitled (woman in hat) 1932 - 1933

Curator: Rothko’s “Untitled (woman in hat)” created circa 1932-1933. The medium here is charcoal on paper. Editor: My first impression is that it's so somber. There’s a real weightiness to the piece, like a stormy, introspective moment caught in charcoal. The woman’s face almost fades into the background. Curator: Absolutely. It’s expressionistic. We need to remember that during this time Rothko was deeply affected by the Great Depression. His early works are filled with social commentary and existential dread and, I mean, the heavy blacks certainly create that sense of doom. Editor: I think the hat itself becomes symbolic. Like, what is she hiding beneath that brim? Societal expectations, a world of trouble? It serves to obscure even as it emphasizes her presence. I wonder what it was like being a woman at that historical moment in New York. Curator: I like how you're reading into that period, how social constraints can almost trap people. I tend to imagine the work through his inner turmoil during his early years. He wasn't quite sure of his artistic voice. Look at those bold, searching strokes. He’s battling darkness within and without, using her as an allegory. The lack of distinct detail makes her almost everyone and no one all at once. Editor: Precisely, and thinking of it that way, the “Untitled” part becomes key, right? By not giving her a name, Rothko's imbuing her with this universal, perhaps tragic, potential that we all carry inside. It’s interesting how this piece anticipates, to me, the blurring between figure and ground, between specificity and pure feeling that Rothko would later use as an abstract expressionist. Curator: It almost feels like the emotional seed of all his later works are held right here. Thank you for opening her up for me today! Editor: Likewise. It makes one consider art as a refuge and tool for resistance during troubling times, always revealing much if we take the time to see and reflect.