SOTHEBY’S. New York, 13 novembre 2012
375,149,000: il totale più alto nella storia di Sotheby’s. Il capolavoro di Mark Rothko, “No.1 (Royal Red and Blue)” ha realizzato 75,122,500 USD. Era stimato 35,000,000-50,000,000. Sicuramente il prezzo è salito ma senza sfondare i 100 milioni, come da previsioni di alcuni. Questo dipinto è il secondo top-price per l’autore. Il primo posto è stato raggiunto, sempre nel 2012 ma da Christie’s, da “Orange, Red, Yellow” aggiudicato a 86,882,500 dollari. Nuovi record sono stati realizzati per Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Hans Hofmann, Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell e Wade Guyton.
“This has been an extraordinary year for Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s,” è il commento di Tobias Meyer, Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s. “The Rothko was the undisputed highlight of the evening, surpassing the Rockefeller Rothko to become the second highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction. The wonderful consignment from the Collection of Sidney and Dorothy Kohl brought more than $100 million, led by the Jackson Pollock, which sold for $40.4 million, well above expectations. If you are looking for evidence that today’s market is alive and well, look no further.”
Alexander Rotter, Head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department in New York: “We were thrilled to achieve great results on behalf of our consignors tonight, in an auction that showed just how vibrant the market is. We were especially encouraged by the strong depth of bidding from around the world on works like the Rothko, Bacon and many more. In addition to the great prices achieved for paintings by the Abstract Expressionists, Warhol was the other star of the night. His works together achieved $54 million, well over their $35 million low estimate, and included the incredibly important Suicide that brought a price nearly three times the previous auction record for a work on paper by the artist.”