Untitled (Harvard Mural sketch)

1961

The retrospective at MoMA

In 1961 the Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective of Rothko’s work, to considerable commercial and critical success, though the art world was already turning its attention to pop art.

1962

Pop art: “Are the young artists plotting to kill us all?”

At a 1962 exhibition of pop art Rothko called the pop artists “charlatans and young opportunists” and wondered aloud whether the young artists were plotting to kill them all; looking at Jasper Johns’s flags he remarked that they had worked for years to get rid of all that.

1963

Son born: Christopher Rothko

autumn 1963

A contract with the Marlborough Gallery

In the autumn of 1963 Rothko signed with the Marlborough Gallery for sales of his work outside the United States; in New York he went on selling directly from his studio.

1964–1970

The Rothko Chapel: six years of work

The chapel for the oil millionaires John and Dominique de Menil in Houston was originally meant to be Roman Catholic, and for the first three years, until 1967, Rothko believed it would remain so; he took a close interest in its layout and insisted on a central cupola. Because of his health he hired two assistants to apply the layers of paint; on half of the works he applied none himself, calling the completion of the paintings “torment”.

1964–1970

The last studio on East 69th Street

In 1964 Rothko moved into his last New York studio at 157 East 69th Street. To simulate the lighting he wanted for the chapel he equipped it with pulleys carrying large walls of canvas material to regulate light from a central cupola.