How These Rothkos Were Restored Without Touching the Canvas

EXCERPT

Three Rothko paintings owned by Harvard badly needed a tune-up. The question was, how to restore them without altering what was there originally.

Published May 30 2021 5:04AM EDT

210628-rogers-rothko-tease_ldctq8 — David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty

In 1960, Harvard University commissioned the artist Mark Rothko, famous for painting monumentally scaled blocks of intense color, to create a site-specific work for the university.

Adam Rogers

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How These Rothkos Were Restored Without Touching the Canvas

Three Rothko paintings owned by Harvard badly needed a tune-up. The question was, how to restore them without altering what was there originally.

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Adam Rogers