Rothko painting sells for $85.8 million

Mark Rothko’s market came back into focus this week after Artforum reported that one of the artist’s Color Field paintings sold for $85.8 million, a figure that nearly matched his standing auction record. The price places the work just below the $86.9 million paid for Rothko’s 1961 painting “Orange, Red, Yellow” at Christie’s in May 2012. Artforum said the new result ranks as the second-highest sale for the artist. The sale was reported on May 19, as the art market’s top end continues to be measured against a small group of trophy works. ### Which Rothko benchmark was this sale chasing? Christie’s set Rothko’s auction record on May 8, 2012, when “Orange, Red, Yellow” sold for $86,882,500 in New York. That price has remained the public-auction benchmark for the artist for nearly 14 years. Christie’s describes the painting as a 1961 work, made at what it called the height of Rothko’s career. (artforum.com) The new $85.8 million figure came within roughly $1.1 million of that mark. Artforum characterized the sale as one that “almost” surpassed the record, underscoring how close the latest price came without overtaking it. ### Why does the $85.8 million number matter on its own? Artforum said the $85.8 million result is the second-highest sale recorded for Rothko. (christies.com) That matters because Rothko’s market has long been defined by a relatively short list of eight-figure works, with the highest prices concentrated in his major Color Field canvases from the 1950s and early 1960s. The gap between first and second place is also unusually narrow. (artforum.com) At $86,882,500, the 2012 Christie’s result remains ahead, but only by a little more than $1 million, making the latest sale one of the closest approaches to Rothko’s record to date. ### Was this an auction result or a private transaction? Artforum’s item described the $85.8 million transaction as a sale that approached Rothko’s auction record, but the comparison point itself is clearly the public-auction result from Christie’s in 2012. (artforum.com) Other market reports published in recent days tied an $85.8 million Rothko result to Sotheby’s New York evening sales, indicating that the number circulating this week has been treated as a public-market event rather than an undisclosed museum or dealer placement. (christies.com) Sotheby’s sale reporting identified the work as “Brown and Blacks in Reds,” a 1957 painting from the collection of dealer Robert Mnuchin, sold for $85.8 million including fees. That reporting said the price was the second-highest ever achieved for Rothko at auction. ### How should readers read the record comparison? (artforum.com) The 2012 Christie’s result remains the number to beat in public auction terms. The latest $85.8 million sale did not exceed it, but it came close enough to renew attention on the upper end of Rothko’s market. Artforum’s framing — second-highest sale, nearly a record — is consistent with Christie’s archived record price and with other recent market reports on the same figure. (artnews.com) May 19 is now the key reference date for the latest report, while May 8, 2012 remains the key historical date for Rothko’s standing auction high. Any next step in this story would be another public sale that clears $86,882,500, the Christie’s benchmark set by “Orange, Red, Yellow.” (artforum.com)