$85 Million Rothko Just Shocked the Art Market
May 29, 2026
The New York auction season opened in dramatic fashion as the Robert Mnuchin collection hit the block at Sotheby’s. Leading the sale was Mark Rothko’s 1957 masterpiece Brown and Blacks in Reds, which sold for an incredible $85.8 million — the second-highest auction result ever achieved for a Rothko. The Mnuchin evening auction totaled more than $166 million and featured major works by Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Jeff Koons, and more, signaling renewed confidence at the very top of the global art market.
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