The volume presents a study of the works of Russian-born American painter, Mark Rothko (1903-1970). Rothko is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter". The author examines Rothko's entire life and artistic output, and the 260 illustrations include color reproductions as well as revealing documentary photographs. This book traces Rothko's life from his childhood as a Russian immigrant in New York and his student days at Yale to his crucial role in the development of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. The progression of his work is sensitively analyzed as well, beginning with his early figurative studies all the way through the late canvases, in which Rothko achieved an expression of ultimate calm and transcendent spirituality.