Culture / Art Republik

World’s most expensive contemporary artwork

A painting by US artist Mark Rothko has set a record for a contemporary work of art, selling for $86.9m at auction in New York.

May 11, 2012 | By Luxuo

Mark Rothko Orange Red Yellow

Mark Rothko’s 1961 oil painting, ‘Orange, Red, Yellow’, set a new auction record for post-war art on Tuesday at an “unprecedented” Christie’s sale.

The large-scale work soared to $86.9 million,  eclipsing the $86.3 million paid for Francis Bacon’s Triptych in 2008 as the most expensive post-war artwork at auction.

Orange, Red, Yellow had been in the collection of the late philanthropist David Pincus and was on loan for years at Philadelphia Museum of Art before its sale to an unnamed buyer.

Last week, the only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s The Scream — one of the most recognizable paintings in history — set an overall world record for any work sold at public auction when it fetched $119.9 million at Sotheby’s in New York.

Advertisements

Mark Rothko Orange painting


 
Back to top