Christie’s Gonzo Sale Disproves Doubters

Mark Rothko
"Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange)"
$34,201,000
Est. $25–30 million

Painted in 1955 at an early stage of Rothko’s rising fame as a premier Abstract Expressionist, this beautifully hued painting carries his trademark floating rectangles of oscillating color. But unlike his later, more brooding compositions, this one, scaled at 66 1/2 by 49 1/4 inches, is sunny and even joyous in its glowing temperament.

Rothko has only recently become a titan of the auction rooms, as was aptly demonstrated last season at Sotheby’s when David Rockefeller’s larger and more richly provenanced “White Center (Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose)” from 1950 fetched a record $72.8 million, the highest mark for a postwar work of art. The sale convincingly shattered the previous mark of $22.4 million set by “Homage to Matisse” (1953–54) at Christie’s New York in November 2005.

This latest entry sold to an anonymous American telephone bidder.