On 8 May 2012 Mark Rothko's Orange, Red, Yellow sold for $86,882,500 in our New York Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, becoming the most expensive contemporary work of art and a setting a world auction record for Mark Rothko.
What we want to see is a Monty Python take on this. The opening price is 86, 000,000 and nobody wants to buy it, and then, in reverse, the auctioneer keeps reducing the price with still no buyers. Eventually, it comes down to zero and then the Auction house itself has to actually start bidding out prices for how much they will pay someone to take it away.Cleese, of course, is the auctioneer.
They are called Dutch auctions . They sell their tulips like that , it is a tricky auction because the first who thinks it is a reasonable price and go for it get it .
During his life, Van Gogh sold some of his works for less than the worth of the canvas. Monet did well in his latter years. Ce'zaane had some inheritance money, and just started to get recognition late in life. All of them changed the course of mighty rivers.
"The Red Vineyard At Arles" is the only painting sold during Van Gogh's lifetime the name of which we actually know, and that was "officially" recorded and acknowledged by the art world!
This record high bid, also coincided with a collective Guinness World Record for, "Most Starch Ever to have been used to Stiffen a Group of Gentlemen's Shirts."
It's a canvas with orange, red and yellow lines drawn across it, and it sells for WHAT?!? Yes and the artist has been dead for 50 years too. Explains a lot.
Honestly, we’re all saying,” I can paint that” I cannot figure the art here? When I see that past artist that changed the world, now this comes along? Somebody convince me the genius in this??
Morons like you have absolutely zero idea the amount of work that goes into works like Rothko's. The insane amount of underpainting, the layering, canvas preparation, etc. Go back to your 9 to 5 and soap operas.
I often wonder if the staff on the phones are even speaking with the buyer directly-or-if they are speaking to their art advisor; who has been given a price ceiling they can bid up to… With how ridiculous billionaires are, I can see them not even being on the phone to spend $100 million (which is a days earnings to some of these people), and relegating this to one of the many people that manage their affairs for them.
Millionaires have absolutely ruined the art world, it's not about the art it's about the value and the value isn't even based on your own opinion it's based on what all the other rich people believe . Sad
Seems to me these bidders only get in when the price reaches a number they need to launder their money clean. That's why one of the bidders got into the action @ $70 million.
I was a Rothko sceptic until I saw his room at Tate modern.It gave me the chills.Try and see some of his work in person-you might change your mind about this kind of work. It is harder and more advanced than it looks.
Totally .. my experience at MOMA in Manhattan.. the red blob. I cried. I was totally consumed, taken in by the painting... just a major major work....Rothko was a master....
Have to disagree about the Gallery and Museum bit. Just been reading a few books on the business end of it and there are now billionaires in Asia and Russia who can not only compete with the large organizations they outbid them.
For all the millions of artists out there, congratulations on keeping art alive and keeping the Rothko's of the world inspired, now you can all share in the wealth that has been created by everyone dedication to art!... oh yeah, the money doesn't get shared. This is the cult of celebrity, the painting can only possibly be worth that kind of money because of every artist that has come before Rothko. I hope Mr Rothko gives back to artists.
This is ridiculous. I love rothkos paintings but these rich people need a realization. To spend that much money on a painting is mentally insane, you could have given that to someone who needs it rather than spending it on one picture to hang up in your house just for the name on it.
These are the same @holes that whine about their tax dollars supporting the poor? Seriously, why in the world is this, JPollock or Dekoonig considered art? I bet they're laughing in the grave.
Give me 5 hours and I can come up with an identical painting. In fact, just about anyone could. If you like Rothko's work, that is your opinion. And I can't tell you your opinion is wrong. But I can categorically state, Rothkos, like most abstract expressionist paintings, take little or no skill to create. Why forgeries aren't epidemic in this genre, I'll never know.
