Lectures at the MFA - Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals: An Image for a Public Place

Rothko painted a series of five paintings, known as his Harvard Murals, in 1962; they were installed in Harvard’s Holyoke Center in January 1964. Due to pigment changes and light exposure over the years, the paintings’ colors altered and they were taken off view in 1979. Hear about the innovative treatment using projected lights that made it possible to see them again at the Harvard Art Museums in 2014 through 2015. Gain insights from the detailed examination of Rothko’s materials and methods undertaken to understand how these murals were made, and why they have aged differently. Narayan Khandekar, director, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums Tuesday, April 10, 2018