Rothko Museum receives two original Mark Rothko drawings in historic gift from the Rothko family
The Rothko Museum in Daugavpils has received a valued donation of two original drawings by Mark Rothko from the private collection of the Rothko family. The generous gift – presented by Mark Rothko’s daughter Kate Rothko Prizel during events marking the artist’s 122nd birthday – significantly strengthens the museum’s holdings and deepens the public presence of Rothko’s work in his birthplace.
The two works, Standing female nude (1934/1935, graphite on Bond paper) and Reclining woman on sofa (1937, ink on Bond paper), are compelling examples of Rothko’s early figurative practice and illuminate the artistic development that later led to his celebrated colour-field paintings. The donation doubles the number of original Rothko works in the museum’s collection and reaffirms the family’s long-standing support for the institution’s mission to preserve and present Mark Rothko’s legacy to audiences in Eastern Europe and beyond.
“This is a moment of profound significance for the Rothko Museum, the city of Daugavpils, and the Latvian State,” said Māris Čačka, Director of the Rothko Museum. “To receive these intimate, early works by Rothko from his family is to deepen the conversation between the artist’s beginnings and his later, world-changing work. We are profoundly grateful to Kate Rothko Prizel and the Rothko family for their generosity and trust. Their gift will inform scholarship, inspire visitors, and strengthen the Rothko Museum’s role as a site of cultural memory and active discovery.”
The presentation in mid-September included a public lecture by Kate Rothko Prizel on preserving her father’s legacy and the long legal and moral campaign to ensure Mark Rothko’s work remains accessible to the public. Reflecting this commitment, the museum will integrate the newly donated drawings into its permanent display and related public outreach programmes, using them as the basis for public talks, research and educational activity that connect Rothko’s formative work on paper with the later masterpieces on loan from the family.
The Rothko family’s continuing patronage has been central to the museum’s development: alongside donations of original works in 2023 and 2025, their commitment includes a regular rotation of major Rothko paintings every three years. The next cycle, curated specifically for the Rothko Museum and representing the full arc of the artist’s creative evolution – from early figurative works and surrealist canvases through his multi-form experiments to the iconic colour fields of his mature years – will open in April 2026.
The museum extends its deepest thanks to Kate Rothko Prizel and to Christopher Rothko, and to all those who have supported its aspiration to keep Rothko’s art in public view in his native city.
The Rothko Museum in Daugavpils is the only public institution in Eastern Europe to hold original works by Mark Rothko in its collection and the only museum in Europe, apart from Tate, to maintain a dedicated Rothko Room with up to six original paintings on permanent display. Nestled within the historic Daugavpils Fortress, the museum serves as an international hub for creativity and scholarship, fostering dialogue between Rothko’s legacy and today’s creative voices.
Publicity images by Didzis Grodzs
