A Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), formerly owned by the late influential art dealer Robert Mnuchin, sold at Sotheby’s on Thursday night for $85.8 million. The work hammered at $74 million, falling short of the upper end of its $70–$100 million estimate, but with premium fees it became the second-most expensive Rothko ever sold at auction, narrowly missing the artist’s record of $86.9 million set by *Orange, Red, Yellow* (1961) in 2012. The painting was part of a sale devoted to Mnuchin’s collection, which also included works by Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Franz Kline, and Jeff Koons.
The sale matters because it underscores the enduring market strength of Rothko’s Color Field abstractions, even as prices approach but do not surpass historic highs. The painting’s provenance—from Sidney Janis Gallery to Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, then Vivendi, and finally Mnuchin—added to its allure. The result also highlights the role of guarantees and irrevocable bids in major auctions, and reflects the continued demand for blue-chip postwar American art from prominent collections.