Seated Woman Holding a Glass [recto] 

Mark Rothko made this ink drawing, "Seated Woman Holding a Glass," on paper, though the exact date is unknown. Rothko's early works, like this one, reveal a strong interest in the figure, rendered here with simple, elegant lines. What does it mean that the artist, who would become famous for abstract fields of color, began his career representing the human form? We might consider the social realism popular in the United States during the 1930s and 40s, when the country was in the grips of economic depression. This was a period when artists and intellectuals wrestled with questions of social inequality, the dignity of labor, and the representation of everyday life. While this drawing seems straightforward, it is worth remembering that our understanding of art deepens when we consider the social and institutional contexts in which it was made. Archival research, exhibition histories, and contemporary reviews can all help us to understand the complex and ever-changing role of art in public life.