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Wednesday 25th of February 1970 (-) — Abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko commits suicide by slashing his arms Rothko's body was found by his assistant Oliver Steindecker when Steindecker arrived in the morning for work. Rothko was lying face-up on the kitchen floor of his studio in a pool of blood, his arms outstretched. He was dressed in an undershirt, long johns and long black socks. He had removed his glasses, shoes and trousers (which were found folded over the back of a chair) before slitting his arms with a double-edged razor. He first took the razor in his right hand (after carefully wrapping a tissue over one one side of the razor) and made a cut in his left arm. He then switched the razor to his left hand and made an even deeper cut in his right arm. Both cuts were made just below the bend of the elbow. The autopsy revealed that Rothko had also overdosed on anti-depressants.
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