Editing Mark Rothko (section)

===Rising American prominence===
Rothko's first completed space was created in the [[Phillips Collection]] in Washington, D.C., following the purchase of four paintings by collector [[Duncan Phillips (art collector)|Duncan Phillips]]. Rothko's fame and wealth had substantially increased; his paintings began to sell to notable collectors, including the [[Rockefeller family]]. In January 1961, Rothko sat next to [[Joseph Kennedy]] at [[John F. Kennedy]]'s inaugural ball. Later that year, a retrospective of his work was held at the Museum of Modern Art, to considerable commercial and critical success. In spite of this newfound fame, the art world had already turned its attention from the now passé abstract expressionists to the "next big thing", [[pop art]], particularly the work of [[Andy Warhol|Warhol]], [[Roy Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein]], and [[James Rosenquist|Rosenquist]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Rothko called pop artists "charlatans and young opportunists", and wondered aloud during a 1962 exhibition of pop art, "Are the young artists plotting to kill us all?" On viewing [[Jasper Johns]]'s flags, Rothko said, "We worked for years to get rid of all that."{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=427}}

On August 31, 1963, Mell gave birth to a second child, Christopher.{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=431}} That autumn, Rothko signed with the [[Marlborough Gallery]] for sales of his work outside the United States. In New York, he continued to sell the artwork directly from his studio.{{sfn|Breslin|1993|p=443}}