Mark Rothko (American, born Russia), who was central to the development of postwar abstract painting in the United States, is best known for the luminous paintings he made in the 1950s and 1960s. These classic works are characterized by their soft-edged rectangular forms and broad, thin washes of color. Rothko worked on large canvases, but he felt that the scale was intimate, establishing a close physical relationship with the viewer. These extraordinary images invite contemplation and spiritual communion. The National Gallery of Art is the largest public repository of Rothko"s works, with a collection that includes nearly three hundred paintings on canvas and paper and a study collection of over six hundred works on paper.