Rothko leads Sotheby’s record-setting sale

Mark Rothko
No.1 (Royal Red and Blue), 1954
Estimate: $35/50 million
Sold for $75,122,500

Rothko leads Sotheby’s record-setting sale Sotheby’s November 2012 auction of Contemporary Art totaled $375,149,000, the best auction result in the Company’s history. The sale was led by Mark Rothko’s ‘No.1 (Royal Red and Blue)’, which sold for $75,122,500.]]>

November 14, 2012, source: Sotheby’s

The sale was led by Mark Rothko‘s impressive “No.1 (Royal Red and Blue)” from 1954, which sold for $75,122,500. According to Sotheby’s, “the majestic canvas was one of eight works handselected by Rothko for his landmark solo show of the same year at the Art Institute of Chicago”. Six months ago, Rothko’s “Orange, Red, Yellow” sold for $86,9 million at Christie’s. One month later, his “Untitled” (1954) was offered at Art Basel with an asking price of $78 million, according to several sources.

Jackson Pollock’s “Number 4, 1951” sold for $40,402,500, setting a new auction record for the artist. Important works from Pollock’s “golden age” (1947-1953) rarely appears on the market, so the price is quite explainable.

Gerhard Richter‘s “Abstraktes Bild” was arguably the most beautiful work in the auction. The 102 3/8 x 78 3/4 in. (260 x 200 cm.) oil on canvas -created in 1990- was sold for a respectable $17,442,500.

Arshile Gorky‘s works are still quite undervalued in the art market. Sotheby’s offered his excellent “Impatience” (1945( with an estimated price of $6-8 million. The lot sold for $6,8 million, arguably the “bargain” of the auction.

Francis Bacon‘s “Untitled (Pope)” achieved $29,762,500. An excellent early “Abstraction” by Willem de Kooning sold for $19,682,500. Andy Warhol‘s “Suicide” from 1964 nearly trebled the previous record for a work on paper by the artist to sell for $16,322,500.

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Rothko’s ‘Orange, Red, Yellow’ sells for $86,9 million at Christie’s (May 2012)