More than 1, 000 paintings were submitted for the awards, and an exhibition of selectedworks will be held in the Mall Galleries from 19 February - 2 March.
The Rothko painting was one of eight works hand-selected by the Russian-American artist for his landmark solo show in 1954 at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Unpublished works by newly-literate learners are selected, produced and distributed to literacy centres and public schools offering youth and adult education classes.
The result is "Birds in the Art of Japan, " a selection of works from the 13th to the 21st century, some 115 selected from the permanent collection along with about a dozen borrowed from local collectors.