Throughout the course of history, some artists of various disciplines were able to attain significant fame and success. While their road to fame could be attributed to their artistic talent in general, often times, there are outside factors that heavily influences the success and reputation of artists. Mark Rothko, an Abstract Expressionist painter, is an example of an artist who achieved success and reputation from outside factors. Although his talent in regards to his artistic technique is irrefutable, additional influences, specifically the popular press and American public opinion, impacted Rothko’s success and reputation as an artist. These factors can be better explained by looking at the Rothko estate legal dispute, and the conflict
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Although Rothko was relatively well known in his time, the majority of his fame came after his death. The driving force for the widespread fame that his work received is attributed to the legal dispute that began in 1971 after Rothko’s death. The case was characterized as “one of the New York art world’s most spectacular scandals” by People Magazine, a highly well known and popular magazine at the time. The case involved a legal dispute between Rothko’s daughter and three executors of Rothko’s estate, who were his closest friends, over the ownership of the Rothko estate (Dobrzynski. 1998). The three executors conspired with Marlborough Gallery in New York in order to devalue and waste the Rothko estate, an act that the media labeled as “painful betrayal” and “inexplicable” (Dobrzynski. 1998). This case contained everything that the public would be enthralled and invested in; millions of dollars at stake, drama between a deceased’s closest friends and his daughter, scandal of the most powerful art dealer in America, and a betrayal (Burstein and Shapiro. 1977). Due to these components, the media covered every detail of this case, and it became of the biggest and most publicized legal dispute in art history (Glueck. 1986). Prominent individuals such as Andre …show more content…
While the quality of work and the ideas behind pieces of work are certainly important components of an artist’s success, factors such as the popular press and American public, in the case of Rothko, are equally or arguably more important. These effect of these factors are not always positive, such as the case with Rothko, and can impede artists from gaining the success and fame that they might deserve. An interesting thing to look into is the relationship between the legal disputes which happened after Rothko’s death, and his contradiction against main American ideologies prior to his death, and see whether there was a relationship between the two factors. His sudden fame after his death could be due to the fact that the barriers that were created due to ideological conflicts were less prominent. Overall, Mark Rothko serves as a good example of an individual whose fame was enhanced by outside factors aside from artistic
Although Rothko was relatively well known in his time, the majority of his fame came after his death. The driving force for the widespread fame that his work received is attributed to the legal dispute that began in 1971 after Rothko’s death. The case was characterized as “one of the New York art world’s most spectacular scandals” by People Magazine, a highly well known and popular magazine at the time. The case involved a legal dispute between Rothko’s daughter and three executors of Rothko’s estate, who were his closest friends, over the ownership of the Rothko estate (Dobrzynski. 1998). The three executors conspired with Marlborough Gallery in New York in order to devalue and waste the Rothko estate, an act that the media labeled as “painful betrayal” and “inexplicable” (Dobrzynski. 1998). This case contained everything that the public would be enthralled and invested in; millions of dollars at stake, drama between a deceased’s closest friends and his daughter, scandal of the most powerful art dealer in America, and a betrayal (Burstein and Shapiro. 1977). Due to these components, the media covered every detail of this case, and it became of the biggest and most publicized legal dispute in art history (Glueck. 1986). Prominent individuals such as Andre …show more content…
While the quality of work and the ideas behind pieces of work are certainly important components of an artist’s success, factors such as the popular press and American public, in the case of Rothko, are equally or arguably more important. These effect of these factors are not always positive, such as the case with Rothko, and can impede artists from gaining the success and fame that they might deserve. An interesting thing to look into is the relationship between the legal disputes which happened after Rothko’s death, and his contradiction against main American ideologies prior to his death, and see whether there was a relationship between the two factors. His sudden fame after his death could be due to the fact that the barriers that were created due to ideological conflicts were less prominent. Overall, Mark Rothko serves as a good example of an individual whose fame was enhanced by outside factors aside from artistic