Rothko and Gottlieb Before Fame | The Realist Years

In this video, we explore The Realist Years exhibition at 125 Newbury Gallery in New York—an exhibition dedicated to the lesser-known works of Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb from the early years of their artistic careers. Before becoming leading figures of Abstract Expressionism, both artists went through a period of exploration and experimentation rooted in realism. This video examines the historical context of the 1930s, the social and economic conditions of the time, and their influence on Rothko’s and Gottlieb’s visual language. Works that received little attention in their own time are now recognized as the starting point of two significant artistic trajectories in the history of American art.