Mark Rothko Work Sells for $85.78m to Deliver a 12% Annualized Return

Mark Rothko, Brown and Blacks in Reds (1957), sold for $85.78m, more than the low estimate at Sotheby's in New York on May 14.

The sale beat the previous auction result for this work by $79.78m, equivalent to an annualized return of 12%. It last sold at auction in 2003 for $6m at Christie's.

However, it fell just short of the artist's auction record, which remains with his 1961 abstract, Orange Red Yellow, which sold for $86.88m in 2012 at Christie's.

Oil on canvas, 229.9 x 154.0cm. The work has been traded 3 times in the past.