The Red-Hot Painting That Broke Mark Rothko's Auction Record
3 min read · 14 Feb 2025
Orange Red Yellow. Image courtesy of Christie's
Mark Rothko's Orange Red Yellow (1961) sold for $86.88m at Christie's in New York on May 8, 2012. The oil on canvas work had once traded twice in the past.
The monumental canvas was first shown by Rothko's dealer, the Marlborough Gallery, in its London space in 1964. It was bought three years later by David Pincus, a Philadelphia-based clothes manufacturer, and his wife, Geraldine, who amassed a major collection of Modern art, starting in the 1950s.
After her husband's death, Geraldine consigned many major works to auction to raise funds for the family's charitable foundation. She recalled: "When we started out, our friends said: ‘Are you crazy? Why are you putting that junk in your house?’“
After Rothko's suicide in 1970, his daughter successfully sued Marlborough Gallery, and two exectors of his father's estate, after she discovered they had colluded to defraud the artist's estate by millions of dollars through a complex scheme of self-dealing, fake sales, and undervaluing works by five or six times their true market value. The "Rothko Case" became a cautionary tale for artists and their heirs.
White Centre (Yellow, Pink and Lavender On Rose) (White Center). Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat Rothko's previous auction record by $14.04m, a 19% rise. His previous record was set by White Centre (Yellow, Pink and Lavender On Rose) (White Center) (1950), which sold for $72.84m at Sotheby's on May 15, 2007. The work had been traded 3 times in the past.
A Brief History of Rothko at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012-05-08 | Orange Red Yellow | $86.88m | 19 % | Christie's | New York |
2007-05-15 | White Centre (Yellow, Pink and Lavender On Rose) (White Center) | $72.84m | 264 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2005-11-08 | Homage to Matisse | $20m | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
2004-11-09 | No. 6 (Yellow, White, Blue Over Yellow on Gray) | $17.37m | 19 % | Sotheby's | New York |
2003-05-14 | No. 9 (White and black on wine) | $14.6m | 2 % | Christie's | New York |
2000-05-17 | Yellow over purple | $14.31m | 43 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1999-11-17 | No 15 | $10m | 85 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1997-11-19 | No. 14, 1960 | $5.4m | 64 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1989-11-08 | Black area in reds | $3.3m | 32 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1988-11-09 | Number 8 | $2.5m | 52 % | Christie's | New York |
1983-11-09 | No. 9 (White and black on wine) | $1.65m | 347 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1983-06-27 | Untitled | $369,000 | 19 % | Christie's | London |
1982-11-11 | Brown orange blue on maroon | $310,000 | 15 % | Christie's | New York |
1982-05-05 | No. 1 | $270,000 | 42 % | Christie's | New York |
1976-05-27 | Sienna orange and black on dark brown | $190,000 | 73 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1974-05-01 | Yellow and white | $110,000 | 29 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1970-11-18 | No.16-1960 | $85,000 | - | Sotheby's | New York |
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