Untitled

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.

1967

Philip Johnson leaves the chapel project

The architect Philip Johnson, unable to compromise with Rothko’s vision of the kind of light he wanted, left the project in 1967; he was replaced by Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry, who flew often to New York and once brought Rothko a miniature of the building.

spring 1968

An aneurysm is discovered

In the spring of 1968 Rothko was found to have an arterial aneurysm. He kept drinking and smoking heavily and ignored his diet, but heeded the advice not to take on canvases more than a metre high and moved to more compact formats; in his declining health he also began painting most of his large works in acrylic rather than oil.

1969

Yale awards him an honorary degree

Forty-six years after leaving Yale, on the eve of his death, Rothko came back to the university to receive an honorary doctorate.

1 January 1969

Divorce from Mell and a move into the studio

His marriage to Mell Beistle, already in deep crisis, was strained further by his illness; on the first day of 1969 they divorced and Rothko moved into his studio.