Results tagged “whitecenter”

Last night, the 81" by 55.5" Mark Rothko painting White Center, owned by David Rockefeller for 47 years, was sold for $72,840,000 at Sotheby's contemporary art auction. The painting's sale broke auction records for both Rothko and contemporary art, and Sotheby's gamble of offering Rockefeller a rumored $46 million guarantee that the painting would see (risky, because the previous Rothko auction record was $22.4 million) seemed to pay off. Rockefeller previously stated that he would use the painting's proceeds for other philanthropic efforts (he originally bought it for $8,500 or $59,000 in today's dollars); he said about the sale, "I am very pleased that it did so well. I'm sorry to see it go.''

The only previous owners of Rothko's "White Center" have been the Bliss family (founders of the MoMA) and David Rockefeller. Tuesday night, the painting will be on the auction block at Sotheby's. The rest of us who can't afford it can check it out starting today at Sotheby's (1334 York Avenue at 72nd Street) during the following times:

The NY Times reports that David Rockefeller is selling a 7-foot Rothko painting that he bought in 1960 for $10,000. Sotheby's will auction "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender)" and has reportedly given him a guarantee of $46 million. The record for a Rothko was a 2005 sale at Christie's, when Homage to Matisse was sold for $22.4 million.