The fog-edged rectangles of Mark Rothko's classic paintings from the forties and fifties invite contemplation for their physical qualities: extraordinary colors, immense size, rigorous composition. Rothko (1903-1970) felt that his works expressed powerful emotions without recourse to symbolic imagery. Their impact is often described in the vocabulary of the spirit. This calendar presents twelve brooding images from the collection of the National Gallery of Art, the repository of Rothko's most important work.