Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was a Latvian-born American painter and a central figure in postwar modern art. After emigrating to the United States as a child, he settled in New York, where he became associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. Rothko rejected narrative imagery in favor of large-scale fields of color, believing painting should evoke fundamental human emotions such as tragedy, ecstasy, and doom. He viewed art as a serious, almost spiritual encounter between viewer and canvas, emphasizing scale, intimacy, and controlled environments of display. Though often grouped with abstraction, Rothko resisted labels, insisting that his work was not about color alone but about lived experience. As his reputation grew, so did his concern with how art was commodified and consumed. His later years were marked by declining health and emotional strain, even as his influence expanded within museums and critical discourse. Rothko died in 1970, leaving behind a body of work that transformed the possibilities of painting and continues to challenge viewers to slow down, feel deeply, and confront the emotional weight of color itself.