The History and Manufacture of Lithol Red, a Pigment Used by Mark Rothko in his Seagram and Harvard Murals of the 1950s and 1960s

Standeven, Harriet A.L.

The History and Manufacture of Lithol Red, a Pigment Used by Mark Rothko in his Seagram and Harvard Murals of the 1950s and 1960s

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Standeven, Harriet A.L.

Date published

2008

Abstract

For his 1950s and 1960s Seagram and Harvard murals, American artist Mark Rothko employed lithol red – a highly fugitive pigment that is more commonly associated with the printing industry than artists’ paints. Some of the murals have faded, which has significant consequences for our appreciation of Rothko’s work today. This paper discusses the chemistry, manufacture, availability and end-use of lithol red in order to gain a greater understanding of how Rothko might have viewed the pigment.

Journal title

Tate Papers

Issue

10

Publisher

Tate

Place of publication

UK

ISSN

1753-9854

Official URL

https://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate-papers/10/history-and-manufacture-of-lithol-red-pigment-used-by-mark-rothko-in-seagram-and-harvard-murals-1950s-and-1960s

Rights statement

In Copyright

Licence

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/