What is the significance of Rothko's turn to dark, expansive paintings in the 1960s? Do they realize or deny what Rothko called the "inner light" of his art? What was the different role of darkness throughout his previous work? Did Rothko intend to imbue colors like those used in the Rothko Chapel with particular meaning?

Looking at both the Chapel works and related single canvases at the National Gallery of Art, modern art curator Harry Cooper explores these and other questions.

Before joining the National Gallery of Art, Cooper served for 10 years as the curator of modern art at the Harvard University Art Museums, as well as taught at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and Columbia University. A reception on the plaza follows the program.