Simon Schama's Power of Art

Documentary series in which historian Simon Schama recounts the story of eight moments of high drama in the making of eight artistic masterpieces.

Overview Seasons Similar

Created By	Simon Schama
Status	Ended
Original Name	Simon Schama's Power of Art
First Air Date	October 19, 2006
Last Air Date	December 7, 2006
Seasons	1
Episodes	8
Episode Runtime	50min
Language	English
Original Language	English
Production Countries	—
Production Companies
Networks	BBC Two

S01E08

Rothko

Born in Dvinsk, Russia (now Daugavpils, Latvia) Rothko moved with his family to Portland, Oregon in 1913. His painting education was brief - he moved to New York to study under the artist Max Weber and then struck out on his own. Rothko is known for his abstract expressionism paintings, but he moved through more traditional styles in his early career, including Surrealist paintings in the 1940s. In 1947 he embarked on the first of his large abstract 'colour-field' paintings, formalising their structure further in the 1950s. Rothko had huge success with largescale solo shows, but committed suicide in 1970.

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