Mark Rothko at Tate Modern

Mark Rothko, Four Darks in Red (1958). This exhibition is the first time Rothko’s permanent collection of works on display at the Tate has been reunited with works from Japan. It focuses on Rothko’s later periods, including the black on grey paintings created towards the end of his life Photograph: 1998 by Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko exhibition, Tate Modern. His work is often considered to have a spiritual aspect, evoking strong responses. For Rothko it provided a system for self-exploration, often working in series. “If a thing is worth doing once, it is worth doing over and over again – exploring it, probing it, demanding by its repetition that the public look at it” Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian

Rothko in his New York apartment, 1967. Rothko was born Marcus Rothkowitz in Latvia in 1903. In 1913 the family moved to America. Ten years later, Rothko found himself in New York, studying design and starting to paint on a more serious basis Photograph: Collection of Kate Rothko Prizel

Mark Rothko, Untitled (1964). His work is often classified as abstract expressionist, but Rothko himself rejected the terms, saying “The only thing I care about is the expression of man's basic emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, destiny” Photograph: Collection of Kate Rothko Prizel

Mark Rothko, Untitled (1969). He was interested in the relationship between a painting and its viewer, seeking to create an intimacy by painting in a format so large the viewer could feel themselves part of it Photograph: 1998 by Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Black on Maroon Sketch for "Mural No.6" (1958). Rothko killed himself in 1970 by taking antidepressants and slashing his arms. His death sparked a long-running legal case over ownership of some of the collection that would become famous in itself Photograph: 1998 by Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled Mural for End Wall (1959). One of Rothko's most well known series of works is the Seagram Murals. Commissioned for the restaurant of a drinks company's new building on Park Avenue, Rothko later admitted he had painted with the idea of putting diners off their meals. He abandoned the project Photograph: 1998 by Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

In 1969, Rothko donated nine murals to Tate along with a cardboard representation of how they could be hung. They have been on display in different configurations since then and are collectively known as the Rothko room Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian