Rothko-Swirl by the edge of the sea

Painted during his courtship with his second wife, it is likely that Slow Swirl

by the Edge of Sea represents Rothko and Mell. The work was initially

acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Fine Art but was traded back to

Rothko and hung in the family’s East 95th Street townhouse from 1961 until

Mell’s death in 1970. The gyrating, swirling figures are reminiscent of the

graceful calligraphic drawings of Masson and Matta.