Editing Mark Rothko (section)

===Circle of friends===
Rothko's move to New York landed him in a fertile artistic atmosphere. Modernist painters regularly exhibited in New York galleries, and the city's museums were an invaluable resource for a budding artist's knowledge and skills. Among the important early influences on him were the works of the [[German Expressionism|German Expressionists]], the surrealist art of [[Paul Klee]], and the paintings of [[Georges Rouault]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aspley |first=Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KK7JHqNrRsC&pg=PA426 |title=Historical Dictionary of Surrealism |date=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5847-3 |pages=426 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1928, with a group of other young artists, Rothko exhibited works at the Opportunity Gallery.<ref name="AAA" /> His paintings, including dark, moody, expressionist interiors and urban scenes, were generally well accepted among critics and peers. To supplement his income, in 1929 Rothko began instructing schoolchildren in drawing, painting, and clay sculpture at the Center Academy of the Brooklyn Jewish Center, where he remained active for over twenty years.<ref>Grange, pg. 20.</ref>

During the early 1930s, Rothko met [[Adolph Gottlieb]], who, along with [[Barnett Newman]], [[Joseph Solman]], [[Louis Schanker]], and [[John D. Graham|John Graham]], was part of a group of young artists surrounding the painter [[Milton Avery]]. According to [[Elaine de Kooning]], it was Avery who "gave Rothko the idea that [the life of a professional artist] was a possibility."{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=91}}Avery's abstract nature paintings, utilizing a rich knowledge of form and color, had a tremendous influence on him.<ref name="AAA">{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=Oral history interview with Sally Avery, 1982 Feb. 19 |url=http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-sally-avery-12685 |access-date=June 18, 2011 |website=Oral history interviews |publisher=[[Archives of American Art]]}}</ref> Soon, Rothko's paintings took on the subject matter and color similar to Avery's, as seen in ''Bathers, or Beach Scene'' of 1933–1934.<ref>On Avery's impact on Rothko: Ashton, pp. 21–25.</ref>

Rothko, Gottlieb, Newman, Solman, Graham, and their mentor, Avery, spent considerable time together, vacationing at [[Lake George (town), New York|Lake George, New York]], and [[Gloucester, Massachusetts]]. In the daytime, they painted, then discussed art in the evenings. During a 1932 visit to Lake George, Rothko met Edith Sachar, a jewelry designer, whom he married later that year.{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=81}} The following summer, his first one-person show was held at the [[Portland Art Museum]],<ref>''Drawings and Water Colors by M. Rothkowitz'', July–August 1933, Museum of Art, Portland. Cited in Adam Greenhalgh, ''Mark Rothko Paintings on Paper'' exh. cat. Washington 2023–2004 (Yale University Press, 2023), page 12, no 6.</ref> consisting mostly of drawings and [[aquarelle]]s.<ref>Catherine Jones, "Noted One-Man Show Artist One-Time Portland Resident." ''Sunday Oregonian'' (July 30, 1933). Cited by Adam Greenhalgh, ''Mark Rothko Paintings on Paper'' exh. cat. Washington 2023–2004 (Yale University Press, 2023), page 13, no 9.</ref> For this exhibition, Rothko took the very unusual step of displaying works done by his pre-adolescent students from the Center Academy, alongside his own.{{sfn|Ashton|1983|p=26}} His family was unable to understand Rothko's decision to be an artist, especially considering the dire economic situation of the [[Great Depression|Depression]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jahn |first=Jeff |title=PORT |url=http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2008/03/rothko_in_portl.html |access-date=July 13, 2011 |publisher=Portlandart.net}}</ref> Having suffered serious financial setbacks, the Rothkowitzes were mystified by Rothko's seeming indifference to financial necessity. They felt he was doing his mother a disservice by not finding a more lucrative and realistic career.{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=57,89}}