Mark Rothko - Maturity

Maturity

Rothko separated from his wife, Edith Sachar, in the summer of 1937, following Edith's increased success in the jewelry business. Rothko helped with his wife's business, but did not enjoy it. At this time, Rothko was, in comparison, a financial failure. He and Sachar reconciled several months later, yet their relationship remained tense. On February 21, 1938, Rothko finally became a citizen of the United States, prompted by fears that the growing Nazi influence in Europe might provoke sudden deportation of American Jews.

In a related political development, following the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939, Rothko, along with Avery, Gottlieb, and others, left the American Artists' Congress in order to dissociate themselves from the Congress's alignment with radical Communism. In June, Rothko and a number of other artists formed the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. Their aim was to keep their art free from political propaganda. Because of his fears of anti-Semitism, in January 1940 he abbreviated his name from "Marcus Rothkowitz" to "Mark Rothko". The name "Roth", a common abbreviation, had become, as a result of its commonality, identifiably Jewish, therefore he settled upon "Rothko".