The Rothko Chapel in Houston was commissioned in 1964 by John and Dominique de Menil. Mark Rothko influenced the design, and Philip Johnson was the original architect but clashed with him. Howard Barnstone and then Eugene Aubry followed. It was completed in 1971, after Rothko died in 1970. The style is Modern Movement, New Formalist.
It is an irregular octagonal brick building with gray or rose stucco walls and a skylight, inscribed in a Greek cross. Fourteen Rothko paintings in black hues hang inside, and a 280-blade louvered skylight replaced a baffled one. Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk stands in a Johnson-designed reflecting pool.
It closed in 1999 and reopened in 2000, and a $30 million restoration followed for the 2021 anniversary. Renovation dates conflict, at 2020 in the infobox and 2019 to 2021 in the text. Hurricane Beryl caused damage in July 2024, and it reopened in December. About 110,000 people visit each year.
Comments