

A team of scientists from MIT Media Lab and Harvard University have ingeniously restored five Rothko murals, darkened and stained over the last decade by light, smoke and cocktail debris. The unique restoration is remarkably accurate based on the testimony of Rothko's own son, comparisons to Rothko's other works and original photographs.



Essential funds for the restoration came in large part from the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation which finances science and medical research around the world. The foundation also established the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University with a $35 million dollar gift.

The five Rothko murals were painted by the artist in 1962 for Harvard’s Graduate School of Design’s dining room. At the time, Rothko insisted that fiberglass curtains be installed to protect his masterpieces but as the years passed, excessive light still flooded through the large windows and the murals were splattered with cocktail fanfare, smoke and even graffiti. By the late 1970’s, the university finally had the sensibility to put the murals into storage.

The unprecedented restoration was accomplished with light projectors onto the murals, restoring not the paintings themselves but capturing how they were originally seen. The method appealed to many art conservationists since Rothko’s elusive brush strokes were left untouched. Heading the team was Ramesh Raskar, Head of MIT Media Lab’s Camera Culture research group. Raskar’s group created software that recorded each color pixel of from the original murals. The original pixels came from digitally restored Ektachrome photos of the murals taken in 1964 and from a sixth mural which was never included in Harvard’s dining halls. The original pixels were compared to contemporary photos of the murals and with the use of algorithms, the software created compensatory pixels to bridge the gap. The compensatory images were then projected onto the murals revealing their original splendor fifty years ago.

The restored Rothko exhibit is currently on display at Harvard University until July 2015.