Historical Timeline
1903 Born Sanok, Poland (the then Austro-Hungarian Empire); moves soon after to Rzeszów
1907 Following his parents' divorce, his mother emigrates to the United States, leaving Mark in the care of his grandfather's household
1913 Enters gymnasium schools against his grandfather’s wishes
1917 Works on the family farm in the summer with Bolshevik prisoners of war, which will prove to be critical to his philosophical and political outlook on life.
1919 Travels alone across Poland and occupied Germany to Copenhagen; emigrates to New York City; finds a job at a furrier.
1920s Decides to become an artist; attends the Academy of Design, New York; in summers paints in Provincetown until early 1930s
1929 First solo exhibition at Whitney Galleries; features watercolors
1930 Meets Alfred Stieglitz who encourages his art-making; begins to spend winters in Georgia to be able to paint outdoors, will do so regularly until 1948
1931 Exhibition at the Marie Harriman Gallery
1935 Marries Celia Frank from Schenectady, NY; a son, Paul, is born in 1936; a second son, William, is born in 1939
1935–39 Works as an artist for the WPA
1936 Runs for New York State Senate on the Communist ticket
1941 Exhibition at Perls Gallery, NY
1947 Exhibition at Galerie St. Etienne, NY
1948 Solo exhibition at Laurel Gallery, NY; part of two national museum exhibitions at the Pennsyylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.; begins to travel to southern Maine to live and paint there part-time
1950 Spends the summer in Mexico; on the way home his car breaks down near a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania; he will return regularly to paint there over the next three years
1953 Solo exhibition at Salpeter Gallery, New York
1954 Appears in Life Magazine
1955 Leaves fur cutting job; included in international traveling exhibition American Primitive Paintings, sponsored by the U.S. Information Service and the Smithsonian
1958 Makes the first fully non-objective work; will never paint in a representational style again
1961 Moves to Cape Neddick, Maine, to live and paint full-time; uses a converted 19th-century barn as his studio
1969 Exhibition at the Ogunquit Gallery (Maine) of element work, one of the few public showings of his non-objective works
1973 Receives a Mark Rothko Foundation grant
1983 Early work acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
1997 Dies on February 8 at the age of 94
