Rare piece: The 1954 work ‘Untitled (Yellow and Blue)’ by Rothko will be first one offered for auction in Asia. — Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s
PETALING JAYA: Once owned by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, a work by Mark Rothko is set to be the first oil painting by the famed abstract artist up for auction in Asia.
The 1954 Untitled (Yellow and Blue) by the American painter is estimated to be worth between US$30mil (RM126mil) and US$45mil (RM189mil), according to news.artnet.com.
According to the website, the painting will appear in a modern and contemporary art auction on Nov 8 in Hong Kong at Sotheby’s Maison, a 2,230sqm retail and exhibition venue that opened in July in the Landmark Chater mall in the city’s Central district.
It will be on display at the venue from Friday until Sept 25.
This is not the first time that Untitled (Yellow and Blue), which resembles an inverted Ukrainian flag, has appeared at auction.
The oil painting, measuring 2.4m tall and 1.8m wide, fetched US$46.5mil at Sotheby’s in New York in 2015, according to the Artnet Price Database.
Untitled (Yellow and Blue) was first acquired by American philanthropists Paul and Bunny Mellon between 1970 and 1971, soon after the artist’s suicide.
It was later sold privately to French luxury mogul Francois Pinault, the billionaire owner of Christie’s, according to Sotheby’s.
In 2013, the painting was one of many artworks acquired by Low, better known as Jho Low.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice ordered the Malaysian to forfeit over US$100mil (RM421mil) in assets, including a luxury Paris apartment and works by Claude Monet and Andy Warhol, over his involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.
