Thread by @sxtvik

The $82.5 million Mark Rothko, Traditional Art, and the price tag of a feeling.

A thread 🧵 by @sxtvik:

"A Mark Rothko painting sold for $82.5 million, the second-highest price for a work by the late abstract artist.

“No.7” painted in 1951, had been expected to sell for $70 million to $90 million at Sotheby’s in New York.

It was the FIRST TIME the painting had come to auction."

This isn't Rothko's most expensive sale till date either: The record for a Rothko was set in 2012 when “Orange, red, yellow” sold for $86.9 million at Christie’s in New York.

"No. 7" was one of dozens by leading artists up for auction from the Macklowe Collection, acquired by real estate mogul Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda over 45 years. A New York judge ordered them to sell the collection and split the proceeds during their 2018 divorce trial.

Other works from the collection:
- 1947 sculpture “Le Nez” by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti ($78.4 M) (below the $141.3 million record set in 2015 for Giacometti’s “L’homme au doigt.”)
- Andy Warhol’s “Nine Marilyns” silkscreen made after Marilyn Monroe’s death ($48.5 M)

- Andy Warhol's “Sixteen Jackies” tribute to former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in black, white and blue tones ($33.9 M)
- Jackson Pollock’s “Number 17, 1951” ($61.2 M)
- Cy Twombly’s vast 2007 “Untitled” work of abstract red peonies ($58.9 M).

Sotheby’s said the 65 works in the Macklowe Collection represent “an unrivalled ensemble that charts the high points of Western artistic achievement of the last 80 years. The auction was split into two, with the remaining 40 or so works to be sold in May 2022.

But, I digress.

I write this thread because I've seen many friends in the NFT space question the price fetched by the Rothko. Some even going far enough to disrespect the artwork itself.

This dismissive attitude is not a good look for a community that has plenty of naysayers of our own.

Art is subjective, you don't need to like every artwork because others would pay millions for it. I don't get glitch art & would never buy an XCOPY. That's ok.

BUT, I recognize XCOPY's contribution to the NFT art landscape, & thus get the value.

Look at Rothko the same way.

Mark Rothko has his place as one of the most important painters of post-World War II modernism.

Rothko refused to adhere to any art movement, but is widely regarded as one of the most important abstract expressionists. His works influenced the development of monochrome painting.

The concept of abstract expressionism frees art from logical laws (how ironic that I'm trying to logically reason with the naysayers).

Rothko's art has been interpreted as light & architecture, as creation of a sense of place or space which can be entered, & spiritual journeys.

“Mark Rothko’s abstractions, recognizable for their rectangularly shaped floating forms and thin washes of color, have been said by critics and historians to invoke the metaphysical.”

On my original post, many commented about the ability of a Rothko to make a grown man cry is profound. I've never seen a Rothko in person, but I'd love to.

Maybe it's hard to see the value in a tiny box of color, but now imagine it on a giant canvas...

https://twitter.com/sxtvik/status/1464558723800571905?s=20

I don't want to try and convince you that his art was special (which it was), the point of this thread is to simply tell you why in the world of traditional art and for art collectors, the historical significance and contributions to art world made by Rothko justify the price.

If you do want to learn more about his specially gifted talent of minimalism, color theory, and symmetry that makes his art special even from a purely artistic viewpoint, highly encourage reading this article:

arthive.com/publications/2…

Now to talk prices, let's look at Rothko's previous sales to show his "floor price."

Untitled, 1952
Sold at Christie's for: $66.2 million

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold another Rothko from 1955 with a blue and orange scheme at Phillips for $56.2 million.

White center (Yellow, pink and lavender on rose), 1950
Sold at Sotheby's for: $72.8 million

It had come to auction from the collection of David Rockefeller, who held onto the painting for nearly five decades.

No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue), 1954
Sold at Sotheby's for: $75 million

The price far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $35 million. Before coming to sale, it passed through the hands of esteemed dealer Richard Feigen and New York collector Ben Heller.

No. 10, 1958
Sold at Christie's for: $81.9 million

The 1958 painting, which Rothko completed as part of the Seagram building commission, features dark orange forms hovering over a black background, appearing to give it a haloed effect.

And we already know:

Orange, red, yellow, 1961
Sold at Christie's for: $86.9 million

The result surpassed the previous record price for a postwar work on the the open market, narrowly outpacing Sotheby’s 2008 sale of a Francis Bacon triptych for $86.3 million.

So bottom line, this price is nothing new for a Rothko, and it genuinely surprised me to see people who're in such a speculative and nascent NFT market where we see cartoons valued at Millions question the valuation of art by one of the most renowned artists of all time.

I will say again, it's always fine to not like an artwork. Because art is truly subjective and there is no 1 authority to define what is and isn't art.

What's not okay in my eyes is mocking/disrespecting/saying hurtful things about any artist simply because you don't like it.

We are already seeing Sotheby's and Christie's inculcate the idea of NFT art as real art. TradArt is already fractionalized to buy, and in the future, it will even be tokenized. We are living in unprecedented times with unprecedented money, let's enjoy it and be kind.

Thank you to everyone who egged me on to write this thread, it reminded me of when I wrote essays for art history class and all the debate over art and artists in cinema class.

Thanks @xBenJamminx for friendly beefin.

@CozomoMedici & @Zeneca_33 you may enjoy this thread.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed writing this because I genuinely love traditional art too. @CYBORG_654 should be one of your go-to resources for understanding traditional art, and I hope to write a proper blog post with her very soon!

Until then, enjoy the art.