Chair, Odyssey Foundation
Leadership Award
Kate Rothko Prizel, M.D., is a retired physician and the daughter of abstract painter Mark Rothko.
Dr. Rothko Prizel was born and grew up in New York City. She received her B.S. degree from Brooklyn College and then attended Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she earned her medical degree in 1978. Until 2009, Dr. Rothko Prizel practiced Clinical Pathology and Transfusion Medicine and taught in medical schools in the Baltimore-Washington area.
As a young woman and still a college student, Dr. Rothko Prizel sued one of the most powerful art galleries in New York City to reclaim her father’s paintings, which had all been sold against his wishes shortly after his death. After nearly a decade of wrangling in court, Dr. Rothko Prizel won the return of more than 650 paintings and became the administrator of his estate. As estate administrator, she was involved in overseeing the donation of the bulk of her father’s artworks to 19 museums, allowing the public access to his paintings, which had been so important to her father.
Growing up as a child of parents who were part of the New York City art scene of the 1950s and 60s, Dr. Rothko Prizel was exposed to issues related to mental illness and addiction at an early age. This influenced her lifelong concern about these subjects and led to her get involved with Odyssey House when she returned to New York City after retirement. She joined the Board of Trustees of Odyssey House in 2018. She was elected Chair of the Odyssey Foundation in 2024.