The Artist’s Reality

“The book broaches a poetics of space that would finally place Rothko’s art among the more uncommon visual achievements of the 20th Century.”—David Anfam, Art Newspaper

“A deceptively slender volume. . . . Reflects the author’s intense intellectual curiosity and ambition.”—Phoebe Hoban, New York Times

“It is unusual to find an artist with such eloquence in words, and this voice from the past, especially from the pioneer of so influential an artistic movement is a rare find.”—Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times

“The rediscovered book manuscript . . . adds an important document to the literature of modern American art.”—Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

“The book is an enormously important art history document because, oddly, it is unsurprising. It confirms what the best critics have always seen in Rothko’s work: the desire to go beyond the historical moment, beyond the accidental detail, beyond nation or culture, even the self, to arrive at a transcendent and universal experience, to arrive at, as he puts it, the myth.”—Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times Magazine (UK)

“A remarkable book. . . . It should be required reading for every teacher and every student of art history and philosophy of art.”—Patricia Railing, The Art Book

“Rothko’s book is fascinating . . . captur[ing] a moment of intense perception into the nature of art by one of its chief practitioners.”—Royal Academy Magazine

“The Artist’s Reality will be a classic text for years to come, offering insight into both the work and the artistic philosophies of this great painter.”—Antiques Magazine