De Hirsh Margules, Mother Ann Lighthouse, Eastern Point, Gloucester, 1946. Gouache on paper. Gift of Jean M. Horblit, 2002. [Acc. #2002.004.002]
Boston Globe: A Rothko gives the Cape Ann Museum a Rothko
By Mark Feeney | August 20, 2026
The Cape Ann Museum announced Thursday that Christopher Rothko, the son of the Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko, has donated to the museum a 1934 watercolor and gouache painted by his father. “Untitled (wharf, Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts)” is currently on display in the CAM exhibition “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea.”
In a statement, Rothko said, “My father said that all art was inherently of its time.” That can also apply to place, Christopher Rothko noted, citing the watercolor as an example. It captures “details from nearly 100 years ago that can still be seen today.”
The painting shows a view of Gloucester’s Inner Harbor as seen from East Gloucester.
Rothko (1903-1970) is best-known for his luminous, highly spiritual abstractions. That “Untitled” is an early figurative work makes it notable as an example of his artistic development.
On Sept. 17 and 18, Rothko and his sister, Kate Rothko Prizel, will be part of a two-day symposium at the museum to discuss their father’s artistic development and the current exhibition.
In a statement, CAM director Oliver Barker called the gift an “honor” for the museum, adding “that Rothko’s first work to enter the museum’s collection will help audiences understand the profound role Cape Ann played in his artistic evolution.”
“Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” runs at CAM through Sept. 27. It then travels to the Phillips Collection, in Washington, D.C., which organized the show with CAM.
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