The Rothko Chapel

Interior view of The Rothko Chapel with the Northwest, North triptych, and Northeast wall paintings by Mark Rothko. Photo by Hickey-Robertson. The Rothko Chapel, Houston.


Pictured above is one of my favorite places in Houston. The atmosphere in the Rothko Chapel is close to the most serene that I have ever encountered. The calming effect is almost immediate, like a tranquilizer taking effect.

On my first visit to the chapel, as I stepped inside from the bright sunlight, I saw what appeared to be several large, rectangular, black panels, pretty much all the same, except for sizes and shapes. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were not black at all, but shades of dark grey, dark blue, and very dark red. In addition, on each panel one could see different shades of the major color of the panel. Several of the side panels include a border of a different color, but all is subtle, thus my first impression of all black panels. The longer you observe the panels, the richer the experience.

Here's a view of the floor plan showing the placement and shape of the panels.

Benches and chairs and even floor cushions are available for meditation or quiet moments. I spent time just sitting in quiet and praying. It's restorative just to be there in the lovely surroundings and quiet.

The Broken Obelisk, Barnett Newman's sculpture, stands outside in a reflecting pool. I sat on a bench outside by the pool for a while, too. How lovely to be in such a beautiful and peaceful place.

The story of the restoration of the obelisk, which had become unstable, is one of huge difficulties overcome.

For nine years the Rothko Chapel has presented The Oscar Romero Award for peace. Below are the wise and wonderful words of Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador.

“Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is a duty.” - Oscar Romero, January 7, 1978

On Sunday, April 22, 2007, the Rothko Chapel presented the ninth Oscar Romero Award to Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, student volunteers for the human rights organization No More Deaths. They were each awarded $5,000 for their work with No More Deaths, a diverse coalition working to end the suffering and the deaths of migrants in the Arizona-Sonora (Mexico) borderlands. Sellz and Strauss chose No More Deaths to receive half of the award in the amount of $10,000.

From Wiki on Archbishop Oscar Romero:

As archbishop, of San Salvador, he witnessed numerous violations of human rights and began a ministry speaking out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country's civil war. Chosen to be archbishop for his conservatism, once in office his conscience led him to embrace a non-violent form of liberation theology, putting him in the line of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. In 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot shortly after his homily.

Oscar Romero is a candidate for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, but I am proud to say that he already has a feast day in the Episcopal Church calendar. Thanks be to God.

What more could one ask for from a place?