Cursing God: Mark Rothko

Today marks the 105th anniversary of the birth of Mark Rothko (1903-1970), a Latvian-American artist who believed “pictures must be miraculous.â€� In honor of Rothko, and at the request of reader nikki, today we’ll take a look at Rothko’s life and art. (Shown above is his 1938 “Entrance to Subway,” part of his Subway Scenes series.) 1. Mark Rothko was born Marcus Rothkowitz to a highly-educated family fluent in Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. At the age of 10, Rothko left Russian-controlled Latvia with his family to settle in Portlan, Oregon. He didn’t become a citizen until 1938, though, when he became worried about the growing Nazi influence in Europe. Two years later, he shortened his name to Mark Rothko. 2. Rothko attended Yale on a scholarship, but dropped out during his sophomore year. While he was there, though, he started the satirical magazine The Yale Saturday Evening Pest with his friend Aaron Director. While he never complet...