The artist went through many different artistic styles within his career but it is work such as the painting in front of us which became his signature approach. Bands of colour would be placed close together on huge canvases and over the period of several years he would try out many different combinations of this same technique, creating different effects as he went. Colour was a key ingredient and in the case of No. 3 he chooses to output a fairly bright artwork. In other examples he might use darker tones such as grey and black and those were seen frequently later in his life, perhaps reflecting a growingly negative nature within his mood. Rothko was not the only artist to work in this manner, but he would be known as the main innovator within the group, the one who really came up with the ideas in the first place and therefore was seen as the figurehead of this collection of contemporary artists. Today his reputation has risen to be considered one of the most important Abstract Expressionist artists, anywhere in the world, and from any decade.

This piece was not titled at the time, and so the decision would have been made to categorise it in some other manner so that Rothko's work could be documentated thoroughly and concisely. A catalogue raisonne now exists of his career and this would not have been possible if all items had merely been left as untitled. Indeed, the artist wanted to avoid naming his pieces so that viewers would not be influenced in how they saw each piece, as he desired them to create their own truths about the meanings of each element in front of them. This particular piece has one main region of red across the centre, with a slim strip of red just below at the foot of the painting. The background is white, and there is also a large rectangle of white across the top, though this merges fairly closely with the background, giving the impression of a part of the painting actually missing. The style is typical of Rothko, in how his lozenges are blurred and approximate around the edges, giving a feeling of natural formation, rather than precision.

No. 3 from 1953 can now be found in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. They offer a wide selection of art and antiquities which reflects the exciting and diverse nature of the US. There is plenty more contemporary art to be found here, but also many earlier pieces dating back to even before the modern US was even created. There are also other civilizations represented here as well, which help to cater for the changing demographic of city dwellers within the US. Visitors today will find an extraordinary amount of things to enjoy, with repeat visits being common for those who live within close promiximity of this impressive venue.