Left: Mark Rothko, Self Portrait, 1936 © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Right: Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled (Self Portrait), 1928, oil on canvas, 33 3/4 x 21 13/16" © 2025 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Gottlieb/Rothko: The Realist Years is currently on view through July 25 at 125 Newbury. The exhibition features 15 paintings and 6 works on paper by Adolph Gottlieb, along with 13 paintings and 11 works on paper by Mark Rothko from the 1920s and 1930s.
From the 125 Newbury Press Release:
"The exhibition offers an intimate look at the artists’ friendship, mutual influences, and their parallel development during the 1920s and the 1930s. Their friendship began long before their pioneering roles in Abstract Expressionism, when both artists explored figuration in strikingly parallel trajectories, strongly influenced by the achievements of the School of Paris, German expressionism, and most of all their mentorship by Milton Avery. Gottlieb/Rothko: The Realist Years provides a fresh perspective on the artists’ transition from figuration to abstraction, and is particularly relevant at a moment when most contemporary artists seem to be anchored to figuration. The Realist Years, which could have defined careers in themselves, was a period through which these two artists matriculated in their evolution to becoming key figures of post-war American painting, renowned for their emotional use of color."
Below, we have gathered photographs and documents from our archives to provide a detailed look into Gottlieb's early years working as an artist. All artwork reproduced below is currently on view in Gottlieb/Rothko: The Realist Years.
Mark Rothko, Entrance to Subway {Subway Station/ Subway Scene}, 1938 © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Adolph Gottlieb, South Ferry Waiting Room, c. 1929, oil on cotton, 36 x 45" © 2025 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
A Timeline of Gottlieb's Early Life:
1903:
Adolf Gottlieb is born in New York City on March 14, 1903. His parents are Emil Gottlieb (1873 – 1947) and Elsie Berger Gottlieb (1881 – 1958). His given name is Adolf, possibly after his maternal grandfather. The family lives at 295 East 10th Street in Manhattan at the time of his birth. Adolph is the oldest of three children and the only male child.
Adolph Gottlieb (seated at left) with Emil, Rhoda, Elsie, and Edna Gottlieb in their New York apartment. October 1930.
An advertisement for a short story anthology featuring a quote from Adolph Gottlieb as a high school student, c. 1918.
1920:
Gottlieb leaves high school and begins to work in his father’s wholesale stationery business, Gottlieb & Sons, at 264 East 2nd Street in Manhattan. He enrolls in the Art Students’ League, where he takes evening classes under John Sloan and attends lectures by Robert Henri. He shares a studio on East Broadway with Chaim Gross, Louis Schanker, and Moses and Isaac Soyer.
Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled (Portrait of Emil), c. 1934, oil on canvas, 33 7/8 x 26". Emil Gottlieb was Adolph Gottlieb's father.
1921:
At the age of 18, Gottlieb and a friend work their passage to Europe on the Steamer Zeeland. He lives at 269 Rue Saint Jacques in Paris for 3–6 months. He attends sketch classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and visits the Musée du Louvre daily.
1922:
Gottlieb travels in central Europe, visiting art galleries and museums in Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Vienna, and Prague. Elsie Gottlieb travels to Europe to reunite with family. Gottlieb meets his mother in Berlin, and they return to New York together, departing from Hamburg on August 18.
Adolph Gottlieb and his mother, Elsie, returning to New York, 1922.
1923 – 1924:
Back in New York, encouraged by his family, Gottlieb attends high school classes in the evenings while working at his father’s business. He re-enrolls in the Art Students’ League; takes classes with John Sloan and Henry Schnackenberg. Gottlieb meets fellow students Barnett Newman and John Graham, who become lifelong friends.
Barnett Newman, Adolph Gottlieb, Alex Borodulin, Otto Soglow, and unidentified friend in Central Park, c. 1925.
John Sloan class photo, 1924. Adolph Gottlieb is pictured in the rear, standing above the crowd.
1928 –1929:
Gottlieb begins showing his paintings at the Opportunity Gallery on West 56th Street in New York. He meets and begins lasting friendships with Milton Avery and Mark Rothko, who also exhibit at the gallery. Gottlieb enters and is awarded first prize, along with the artist Konrad Cramer, in the Dudensing National Competition. His prize is a solo exhibition at the prestigious Dudensing Gallery on East 57th Street in Manhattan. Adolph Gottlieb meets Esther Dick at a party in Greenwich Village.
Adolph Gottlieb at 27 years of age in his family's New York apartment, October 1930. Visible on wall: Adolph Gottlieb, Portrait, c. 1923, oil on canvas, 23 1/16 x 17 1/8"
A review of Gottlieb's first solo exhibition at Dudensing Gallery by Alexander Borodulin, May 25, 1930. Borodulin can be seen in the above photograph and in the painting Untitled (Alex with Mandolin), c. 1930.
1930:
Gottlieb rents a studio, which is occasionally shared with Barnett Newman, on East Broadway in Manhattan. His first solo exhibition opens at the Dudensing Gallery in New York on May 1. Gottlieb exhibits 18 paintings.
Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled (Alex with Mandolin), c. 1930, oil on linen, 19 7/8 x 16"
Adolph Gottlieb, Aaron Siskind, c. 1927, oil on canvas, 27 1/16 x 19 13/16"
1931 – 1932:
Gottlieb’s paintings are included in two exhibitions at the Opportunity Gallery (May and June). Adolph Gottlieb and Esther Dick are married in New York City on June 12, 1932. They spend their summer in Rockport, Massachusetts, along with Milton and Sally Avery. Adolph and Esther Gottlieb move to 14 Christopher Street in Manhattan.
Newly married Adolph and Esther Gottlieb on the roof of Adolph Gottlieb's parents' apartment building at 845 West End Ave., September 1932.
Adolph Gottlieb, Esther, 1931, oil on canvas, 19 x 24"
1933:
Gottlieb permanently changes the spelling of his first name from Adolf to Adolph in reaction to the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. The Gottliebs summer in East Gloucester, Massachusetts, along with the Averys. They will vacation around Gloucester for three consecutive summers. The Gottliebs move to 155 State Street in Brooklyn in November. Gottlieb becomes close friends with the artist David Smith, who lives at 124 State Street. Gottlieb purchases a second-hand etching press and begins making prints in his home, a practice he will continue through 1947.
Adolph Gottlieb on the beach in Cape Ann, 1934.
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb sailing off Cape Ann, c. 1934.
1935:
Gottlieb is included in the inaugural group exhibition of Gallery Secession, New York. He is a founding member of The Ten, a group of artists dedicated to expressionist and abstract painting. The Gottliebs travel to Europe, visiting Amsterdam, Brussels, Tervuren, and Paris. In addition to museums and contemporary galleries, the Gottliebs visit galleries that display African art, some of which were recommended by John Graham. The Gottliebs spend the money they had saved for a last special meal in Paris to purchase five African sculptures they are offered. They return to New York on September 3.
Adolph Gottlieb, Seated Nude, 1934, oil on canvas, 39 9/16 x 35 1/2"
Adolph Gottlieb, Untitled (Portrait-Leopard Coat), 1934, oil on canvas, 33 5/8 x 25 9/16"
1936:
Gottlieb joins the Artists’ Union as well as the Easel Division of the WPA. He also joins the American Artists’ Congress against War and Fascism. The Gottliebs spend the summer in Three Bridges, New Jersey, and are visited by Milton and Sally Avery.
Adolph Gottlieb (left) and Milton Avery (right) in Three Bridges, NJ, Summer 1936.
1937:
Gottlieb spends part of the summer in Fire Island, New York, then visits the Averys in Bondeville, Vermont. Gottlieb resigns from the WPA in October. To improve Esther Gottlieb’s health, the Gottliebs leave New York City on October 27 and drive to Tucson, Arizona, where they live and work for the next eight months.
To continue reading Gottlieb’s chronology, click here!