What changed hands?
Mark Rothko, No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe). From the Agnes Gund collection. New auction record for Rothko.
From the artist's studio to the auction block
Agnes Gund acquired No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe) directly from Mark Rothko in 1967. Nearly sixty years later, the painting's sale at Christie's set a new auction record for the artist at $98.4 million, placing it among the most expensive works of post-war art ever sold at auction.
Provenance as part of the price
The Gund provenance — a direct, documented acquisition from the artist — is integral to this result. A Rothko without such a collecting history would tell a different market story, even if the canvas were identical in every other respect. The combination of provenance, condition, and rarity drove the bidding to a new record.
Read the number carefully
An auction result captures a particular object, a particular sale and the buyers competing on that occasion. It does not establish the value of every similar object, or what this one would sell for today.
Our selection keeps historical results separate from asking prices and estimates. Where the cited report does not break out fees, we say so rather than inventing a hammer price.
Sale documentation: Christie's press release — 20th/21st Century Evening Sale ↗
What does “source reviewed” mean?
We checked the published report against the amount and object listed here. That does not independently authenticate the object or confirm settlement of the transaction.
