and loves rothko's large abstract canvasses.rks on paper. >> reporter: now an exhibit at the national gallery of art in washington, d.c., hopes to tell a lesser known rothko story. the trail of paperworks the artist left behind. adam greenhalgh is the curator. >> we can see his sources, early ambitions, aspirations, and the way that he understands paper to be just as significant and important as his much better known canvasses. >> reporter: rothko on paper is equally as innovative and i did not consider those to be studies or prep work. when you look at these, they don't even seem like paperworks, but this is paper. >> yes, indeed. these are mounted in the way that rothko insisted that his classic format paintings on paper be mount. so they are attached to a hard board panel or linen and wrapped around a stretcher or strainer to give them this three-dimensional presence. >> reporter: born markus rothkovitch in latvia, he immigrated to portland, oregon, with his family in the early 19800s. he eventually moved to new york, working